When Tanzanian entrepreneur Nisha Kanabar launched Industrie Africa in 2018, the African fashion landscape was still taking shape. Designers from the continent were gaining global attention, but meaningful infrastructure, long-term visibility, and access to markets remained out of reach.
Her company set out to change that.
"Industrie Africa began as a response to absence," Kanabar tells OkayAfrica. "A lack of structure, visibility, and context around Africa's fashion industry. What started as a digital directory has evolved into a dynamic ecosystem."
Five years later, the platform has become a trusted online store and content hub, supporting both long-established and emerging brands, including Doreen Mashika,Dye Lab,Hertunba, andThis Is Us. Now, it is stepping into the physical world. Last Friday, July 18, on the shores of Zanzibar's Bawe Island, Industrie Africa marked its fifth anniversary with the launch of SoLA, the Society of Luxury Artisanship.
SoLa, a high-end concept store situated within the Bawe Island private resort, presents a curated selection of African designers alongside global labels, providing visitors with a thoughtful and stylish shopping experience. Its first exclusive collection is a limited-edition resort capsule by Senegalese brandTongoro, specifically designed for the Zanzibar location, and available both in-store and online.
Photo by Industrie Africa
Inside SoLA, Industrie Africa's first concept store on Bawe Island, Zanzibar, showcasing a curated mix of contemporary African fashion and jewelry.
For Kanabar, this next step builds on what she started in 2018, while adapting to how people want to discover and shop for fashion today. "The mission hasn't changed, but the way we deliver it has. We've moved from simply connecting people to products to influencing how and where those products live in the world."
Moving into physical retail is also a strategic response to challenges African designers still face. While names like Thebe Magugu, Orange Culture, Lagos Space Programme, and Kenneth Ize have gained global recognition, many struggle with reliable production, distribution, and access to customers.
Industrie Africa's answer to this gap is Industrie Africa Select, a new consulting arm that works with luxury hotels and resorts across the continent to design curated retail experiences. SoLA is its first project, and a model for what is possible when retail meets storytelling in a space that focuses on both culture and craftsmanship.
"As luxury travel flourishes across the continent and globally, we kept noticing the same disconnect: beautifully considered hospitality spaces, paired with retail concepts that felt like an afterthought," Kanabar explains. "That gap became our entry point."
Photo by Industrie Africa
A model wears a coral dress from Tongoro's exclusive resort capsule, created for Industrie Africa's SoLA concept store on Bawe Island.
At the same time, platforms like Industrie Africa continue to challenge outdated ideas of what African luxury looks like. "African luxury is less about price point and more about process and provenance," Kanabar says. "It's the rhythm of handwork, the intentionality behind materials, the intimacy of small-batches. It possesses a subdued power, inimitably rooted in story, place, and identity."
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