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The $31 billion textile/clothing market in Sub-Saharan Africa will take centre-stage at the 2017 Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group later this month in India. According to a statement released on Thursday, AfDB said it will host a fashion show and panel discussion to promote the tremendous opportunities in Africa’s fashion industry to the global market.

The bank said it will host a session on Creating Wealth through Fashonomics, where experts and practitioners will discuss methods of promoting textile manufacturing in Africa.

The AfDB’s Fashionomics initiative, which was first launched in 2015, is designed to operate an online platform that aims to expose African designers and other stakeholders to the global market, attract international investment and improve skills development. It also seeks to develop Africa’s fashion industry as a tool for youth employment, women empowerment, industrialization, regional integration, entrepreneurship, and poverty reduction.

“Fashion is not just about design or inspiration. It’s also a multi-million-dollar industry that creates millions of jobs, including in textile and clothing manufacturing,” said Emanuela Gregorio, gender specialist at the AfDB.

Under its High-5 Agenda, the bank considers the creative industries as offering massive potential for job creation and boosting economic growth. For instance, instead of exporting raw cotton, AfDB said Africa needs to move to the top of the global value chain and produce garments, targeting the growing African and global consumer class.

After agriculture, the textile/clothing market accounts for the second largest number of jobs in developing countries, said the AfDB. In Côte d’Ivoire, women own 80 percent of businesses in the industry and close to half of the entrepreneurs are under the age of 35. Only 33 percent – of the mostly SMEs – work with local suppliers.

In Ethiopia, a pioneer in the textile industry in the region with more than 40,000 employees, salaries are three times lower than in Côte d’Ivoire and the cost of electricity remains low due to availability of hydropower, and inputs are affordably priced.

AfDB said the textile/clothing industry could generate 400,000 jobs in Sub-Saharan Africa alone and exports could double in the next 10 years.

The AfDB Annual Meetings – scheduled to hold on May 22-26, 2017 in Ahmedabad, India – will focus on Transforming Agriculture for Wealth Creation in Africa.