Founder, CN Daniels Couture (aka Jacket Kings) Nnamdi Daniels has tasked the federal government to fund entrepreneurs rather than give money to the poor, and engender continuous conversation with creatives.
The Nigerian designer made this known at an event held to mark the brand’s 10th anniversary in Abuja.
While a major disruption in Nigeria’s fashion industry has seen more educated Nigerians operating in the sector, and the Nigerian fashion/designers becoming more globally accepted, within the past ten years, several challenges persist that hinder the industry’s progress.
These, he said include, unfavourable government policies, zero to low access to funding, and inconsistent power supply.
Unfavourable government policies, Daniels noted, is the result of policymakers who know nothing about the unique workings of the fashion and creative industry.
While acknowledging the Ministry of Arts, Culture, Creative Economy and Tourism, recent effort to create a more inclusive IP policy– that will favour the heretofore ignored creative sectors as fashion, cuisines, etc., Daniels said, such programmes should lean towards a conversation between sectors and the government, rather than a mere event.
“What (the ministry) did is a good move in the right direction. However, this is not the first time we have heard of such plans. We were invited for that event that held at the Arts center.
There should be a conversation, where we can say, “This will help, that will help, this we can throw away”, not just an event.”
On the issue of funding, Daniels tasked government not to give away Nigeria’s money to poor people as that would only encourage poverty. Rather, such funds should be granted to small and medium scale entrepreneurs, that can create jobs to absorb the poor.
“When you fund an entrepreneur who knows what he or she is doing, with the mandate to “take a N100 million and create a hundred more like you within the next ten years” that will be more effective.”
Among the several funding challenges plaguing the fashion and other creative industry practitioners, Daniels highlighted financial institutions like the Bank of Industry (BOI) ‘unreasonable’ demand for a bank guarantee as conditions for a loan.
This had made access to federal government financial initiatives such as I-DICE impossible for many.
“The requirements are not encouraging. I have applied twice for BOI funding for equipment leasing, and they asked me for a bank guarantee. Bank guarantee means that I have that money stocked somewhere in the bank. Why go to BOI for funding, and pay interest, if I have the money?
“What the bank should do is embark on a facility visit first. Review the bank statements of the organization etc., not ask for unnecessary criteria like land document and C of O.”
Despite the many challenges, the brand has held strong over the years, expanding its headquarters to Kampala, Uganda, and the United Kingdom. It has also placed corporate social responsibility at the forefront through its fashion training programmes, which trains rural tailors in mostly Warri, and deploying them to their new offices in Ugadan. Thus far, over 70 trainees, able-bodied and those with different abilities, have gone through the programme.
“It’s been good. We are not yet where we are going to, but we are not where we used to be. We have achieved more than we expected. We have new surprises to unroll next year,” trilled Daniels.
