The business of online fashion is well established in the United States.  Most American brick and mortar retailers have an online presence.  Charles Thyrwitt, Men’s Wearhouse, Victoria’s Secret are just a few of these established companies with strong  internet presence.  The internet revolution has also made it possible for strictly online retailers to achieve considerable success, by reducing the operational cost of the business and allowing entrepreneurs to focus on sourcing  products from all over the world.

Nigerian Entrepreneurs identified this gap in the African market,  and the guys who brought you the Iroko media empire have decided to dabble in the online fashion space with a new startup Giddimint.  Actually to be specific, Spark Incubator is the company making the investment, but as our regular readers know,  Spark incubator is co-owned by the founders of Iroko.  What does Giddimint do? They sell Urban Tee shirts inspired by African art and Culture, think of it as an African version of Threadless or Mixunit.

available for purchase at Giddimint

They recently signed the very popular Nigerian singer Bez as an official Merchandise partner, as they look to increase market share in the online fashion retail space.  The “Tee shirt economy” can be very lucrative if done right.  It has had varied success in the United states.  Some companies like college humour have made millions of dollar  from their t shirt business, while others barely turned a profit. Giddimint hopes to be another African success story, and with their high powered investors the chances are highly in their favor

Two countries over in Ghana, an online shoe retailer boasting authentic hand made shoes is creating a buzz.  Heel the world boasts, authentic, bespoke and handmade shoes made right there in Ghana.  These African designed shoes are sleek, expensive looking and serve as another example of how the internet has facilitated the presentation of  African creativity and innovation to the world.

available for purchase at Heel the World

Made in Africa?  you bet you are ass they are, and with companies like giddimint and heeltheworld we expect this phrase to be very common in the upcoming years……………………Stay Mobile