Ethnocentrique has concluded the pilot phase of its Fashion Future Programme in Aba, achieving a significant employment milestone.
The initiative is projected to generate more than 10,000 direct and indirect jobs, marking a notable expansion of opportunities within the city’s fashion ecosystem.
The announcement was made during the two-day finale of The Fashion Games, an activation delivered in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation to showcase outcomes from the programme’s implementation in Abia State.
Programme Coordinator, Jeremiah Ubunama, said the initiative was designed to redefine perceptions of the fashion industry in Aba.
“When we came to Aba, we asked a simple question: what if we stop seeing fashion as style and start seeing it as an economy? Since then, we’ve reached over 10,000 people and supported the creation of more than 4,000 MSMEs,” he said.
The reported jobs span the entire fashion value chain, including roles in design, tailoring, logistics, marketing, and ancillary services that have emerged alongside the more than 4,000 micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises supported by the programme.
Ethnocentrique Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Irunna Ejibe, emphasised that the programme’s success lies in system-building rather than isolated skill development.
“Ecosystems do not fail from lack of effort, but from lack of coordination. What we have built is a model that connects skills, finance, policy, and enterprise into one clear pathway,” she said.
Organisers added that the 10,000-job milestone demonstrates how structured coordination can transform Aba’s fashion sector into a large-scale employer, providing a replicable model for broader national rollout.
