The Mirror's Health , Lifestyle and Fashion
Vlisco holds entrepreneurial training for emerging designers
The Vlisco Fashion Fund Training, facilitated by Ekow Mensah, a productivity coach and business consultant, took participants through areas such as innovation and creativity, gathering resources, creating and growing a business, managing a business and other skills needed by entrepreneurs.
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Before the training session, the Managing Director of Vlisco Ghana, Fatoumata Doro explained that the Vlisco Fashion Fund was a fashion contest to support emerging designers and tailors who are in the process of establishing their career in the fashion industry.
She said this year, they decided to give all interested applicants the opportunity to learn about building their business before applying for the fund.
“In the past, we only received applications and shortlisted those who qualified but we have realised that some didn’t know how to apply or didn’t understand the fashion business, so this training sessions will give them the opportunity to improve their knowledge about the fashion business even beyond the fashion fund. This session is not only targeted at winning the fund but also to build the capacity of these emerging designers,” she explained.
Fatoumata with some of the participants
Fatoumata said Vlisco is a quality and high-end brand which was not only interested in growing its business but also impacting lives and growing fashion business on the African continent.
2022 Vlisco Fashion Fund
Application for this year’s competition opens on May 1 to May 31. The competition is opened to budding designers residing in Ghana between 18 and 35 years.
Fifteen candidates will be selected from entries and assessed at an interview and a sewing test supervised by a bailiff. At the sewing test, each candidate will be provided with fabrics from Vlisco and other sewing accessories to create a piece.
Three finalists will then be selected for the final competition which entails designing five garments which will be showcased at a runway event.
The winner will receive a cash prize of 5,000 Euros and a fully funded Master class in the Netherlands in October 2022.
The first-runner up will receive 3,000 Euros with the second runner-up receiving 2,000 Euros.
All three finalists become ambassadors of the brand from October 2022 to September 2023.
Experiences
At the event, two past winners of the competition, Belinda Ofori, the CEO of Turquoise Couture, who won the contest in 2017 and Jeremiah Mensah, who won in 2018, said winning the competition was the changing moment in their career.
According to Ms Ofori, Vlisco gave her the support she needed to start her business and grow it to its current state.
To applicants of this year’s contest, Mr Mensah advised them to stay true to themselves and not copy.
