Urban designers seek investors

Behind the pride of homecoming, young designers have production difficulties among others.

"It takes a huge support, but not necessarily from the government. There are private people, some of whom might decide to invest their money to grow a business. After studying the course, there is a lack of investors, more precisely, a lack of vision."

Tony Nobody, cultural promoter and patron of the Blaxity house noted the difficulties of getting investments for urban fashion in Cameroon. Despite the difficulties, the brands are growing: Deido Boy, Khmer style, Jasaïd, Sanja, Mullah, Bantu, Yahweh, Bangwa Boy among others.

Also, Motherland, the brand of rapper Stanley Enow, who started it two years ago is considered the trigger for the rush for local urban products, after the release of his hit "Hein Pere" and the message on his shirts, "On est High Père!".

An event that shows the close link between fashion and urban music. To confirm, the urban clothing outlets, for those who manage to find a distribution channel, often merge hip hop products to distribution points. But it is not systematic because location itself is linked to the shortage of raw materials.

To remedy this, Blaxity for example, for years try to organize street wear promotion events where officials have undertaken to meet local textile companies. Following this, on 21 June, they held a workshop for fifteen urban designers, where the same companies had made some proposals to solve the problem of raw material availability.

The cultural structure is also a factor for failure of brands visibility through dealing with only a few local shops. An early solution for designers in reaching the public is to rely on social media networks and word of mouth.