Business - Commentary
Has Black Lives Matter Really Helped African Brands? BY IJEOMA NDUKWE
THE FIRST WEEK OF JUNE 2020 was memorable for AAKS designer Akosua AfriyieKumi. She woke up to hundreds of orders via her brand’s online store — a volume of sales unprecedented in the handbag line’s six-year history. “I knew the [Black Lives Matter] protests were happening, but I was wondering, ‘why are people shopping?’,” she recalls. “Then I realised a lot of people were sharing lists of Black-owned businesses online. From June to December [the sales] never stopped.” For AAKS, based in Ghana, direct sales online grew by 700% in 2020 alone. From her home workshop in the city of Kumasi in the south of the country, the designer is preparing orders that have been placed by major international retailers over the past nine months. Afriyie-Kumi initially felt under immense pressure when faced with the expectations of her new clients. “The majority expected me to operate like a major retailer,” Afriyie-Kumi says. “I’m a small business. It’s a challenge meeting the orders. I had the worry that they might cancel the orders.” The process of completing one of Afriyie-Kumi’s handcrafted bags can take from 10 to 14 days. AAKS bags are handcrafted in raffia from palm tree leaves. The harvested leaves are left to dry in the sun before being soaked in vegetable dyes to create the striking colours so characteristic of the brand’s designs. Artisans in northern Ghana handweave the raffia; in the finishing process, leather linings, buckles, handles and straps are applied. Fortunately for the AAKS designer, her new clients are firmly aligned with the sustainable and
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November-December 2021
AAKS artisanal ethos of the brand. “Companies are so understanding once I explain the nature of our operations,” she says. AAKS is one of many African brands that have become highly prized in the aftermath of last year’s anti-racism protests in the West. Calls to end racial and social injustice catalysed a global Black economic empowerment movement that has boosted Black businesses around the world. South African brand Maxhosa Africa likewise experienced a surge in demand, with sales growing by 400% in June 2000. The luxury knitwear line was featured on Beyonce’s Black Parade, a platform on the singer’s website to promote Blackowned brands. Its online store promptly sold out of stock. Maxhosa’s knitwear, for both men and women, features colourful patterns in silk, mohair and wool thread that appear to have been dipped in a rainbow. They reference traditional beadwork and symbolism from designer Laduma Ngxokolo’s Xhosa heritage. However, despite the positive interest, Ngxokolo says he is unenthusiastic about servicing the influx of requests from international retail platforms. “Unfortunately, they only place orders in very Sika DAWN
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