A Durban-based women-owned company that manufactures clothes, shoes and bags, is set to take advantage of network and export opportunities at the fourth Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) that will take place in Algiers, Algeria from 4-10 September 2025.
Afrikan Passion Designs is one of the 30 companies that are supported by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) to showcase at the fair.
The Co-Founder of Afrikan Passion Designs, Ms Nombuso Khanyile says the trade fair will afford them an opportunity to meet with other businesspeople who are in the same industry, as well as potential investors.
“The IATF will also offer us an opportunity to further foster relations with the buyers and potential investors that we met at the same trade fair in Egypt in 2023. This is also a great platform to learn on how to improve our own products and to source investments for advanced machinery in order to expand our business and create more employment,” she says.
Khanyile, who holds an Honours Degree in Biochemistry, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry and Microbiology from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, says the two qualifications assisted her to merge science and art. She explains that the main goal of their company, which they started as street vendors in the central business district of Durban in 2017, is to build a brand that focuses on sustainability and addresses climate change.
“With the help of science and craft, I noticed that there is a need to reduce the pollution that is caused by the textile industry. Afrikan Passion Designs merges science and craft by using sustainable reagents to create durable and long lasting products. We are aware of the pollution caused by the leather and textile industry, therefore, we limit the harmful chemicals in our productions by using chromium free leather dyes,” she says.
Khanyile acknowledges that the textile industry in South Africa is facing major challenges from the East, especially from China, which is dominating in fast fashion.
“The industry is up against fast fashion. With the right approach and with the help of government a lot can be done to protect local jobs and the industry by putting measures in place that will make it difficult for dumping locally,” says Khanyile.
She adds that the South African economy is sustained by small businesses. She reckons if the small businesses can be assisted to increase production, they will contribute to economic growth and job creation.
Afrikan Passion Designs currently markets and sells their accessories through a retail store in Umlazi, local exhibitions, outdoor markets and online. They have previously attended exhibitions in the United Kingdom, Australia and Egypt, with the support of the dtic.
The Co-Founder of Afrikan Passion Designs, Ms Nombuso Khanyile at her studio in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.
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Bongani Lukhele – Director: Media Relations
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Issued by: The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic)
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