University of Westminster welcomes leading fashion entrepreneurs from Rwanda for week of collaboration and celebration

From 27 June to 5 July, founders of some of Rwanda's most exciting fashion brands took part in a week of professional development, networking and public events. The programme was designed to showcase Rwanda's growing fashion industry to UK audiences and give Westminster students the opportunity to collaborate closely with the entrepreneurs to share their expertise in fashion and marketing while gaining valuable international insights into the global fashion industry.

The visit began with an official Welcome to London reception hosted by the Rwanda High Commission to the UK, where the entrepreneurs were welcomed by the Rwanda High Commissioner to the UK, H.E. Busingye Johnston. The entrepreneurs engaged in discussions with young Rwandan professionals from the creative economy based in the UK, building new relationships with professionals and members of the Rwandan diaspora in London.

During their visit, the entrepreneurs participated in an intensive short course delivered by Westminster's School of Arts, equipping participants with new insights into fashion entrepreneurship, international markets, branding and business development. This included a visit to the Westminster Menswear Archive and also a social media and photoshoot day at the Harrow Campus studios, where students engaged as photographers, models and make-up artists to work alongside industry professionals and the entrepreneurs to create promotional assets for use across social media, websites and future marketing activities.

Photo by Elijah McDonnell. Outfit by Uwase Furaha of DoBe Couture. Model: Aimee Brew-Riverson

Ruhhie Oppong, Diplomacy and Global Politics MA student who worked as an assistant make-up artist, said: “I stepped into an experience I never expected to have: joining the makeup team for the Rwandan Fashion Shoot. I was there mostly to watch, to soak it all in, to be present in a world I'd only ever admired from the outside. But that alone turned out to be one of the richest learning experiences I've had. Just being in that fast-paced photoshoot environment, watching two professionals work with such focus and precision, adapting instantly whenever something didn't go to plan, taught me more about the industry than I could have learned any other way. Standing in that room, surrounded by designers and creatives who do this for a living, felt genuinely surreal.”

Two photography students Malcolm Ukeje and Archie Connaught-Phiri worked on the shoot. About the experience Malcom Ukeje, Photography BA Honours student, added: “Working with these Rwandan designers was so much more than a shoot. It meant discovering how tradition and modernity come together in ways I’d never experienced before, even when our lives and perspectives are worlds apart. It’s hard to fully explain how special this collaboration felt: their unique vision meeting mine, to turn their stories and craft into something we could share together.”

The highlight of the week was Rwanda on Regent Street, a landmark exhibition held on 2 and 3 July at the University's Regent Street Campus. The exhibition gave visitors the chance to discover contemporary Rwandan fashion, meet the founders behind the brands and find out more about their design processes, cultural influences and industry pathways.  

The week's celebrations concluded with a Vice-Chancellor's networking reception held on 3 July at the University's flagship Zone29 building, Westminster’s new home for careers and enterprise. The event celebrated the achievements of the entrepreneurs who were each awarded a certificate for completing the programme. At the culmination of the evening two of the entrepreneurs, Yves Nshimiyimana and Maurice Niyigena, presented Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Peter Bonfield with his Chief Dragon MadeinRwanda jacket that they had both collaborated to create.

Photo by Elijah McDonnell

The Summer Showcase Week marked the culmination of the Rwanda Fashion Entrepreneurship Programme, a pilot initiative designed to support export-ready Rwandan fashion entrepreneurs by increasing their international visibility and connecting them with industry professionals, buyers and global audiences in London.

The programme has been delivered in partnership with the British High Commission Kigali, with support from the Rwanda High Commission in the UK, Inzira Creative Partners, RwandAir, Rwanda Business UK, the British Council and International Student House. Developed as a whole-university project, the programme is anchored through the University of Westminster’s Centre for Education and Teaching Innovation (CETI) with support from colleagues across the University.

Darrell Kofkin, Senior Lecturer in Entrepreneurship and Rwanda Lead, who spearheaded the project, said: “Since establishing our partnership with Rwanda in 2017, we have delivered a range of collaborative initiatives. The Rwanda Fashion Entrepreneurship Programme is by far the most ambitious of these to date, demonstrating what can be achieved when colleagues, students, alumni, diplomatic and industry partners, and entrepreneurs unite behind a shared vision.

“One of the defining features of the programme has been the willingness of many colleagues and partners to coalesce around this opportunity, look beyond barriers and focus on solutions. Through the dedication and commitment of our colleagues within the university and collaborators in both Rwanda and the UK, especially the British High Commission in Kigali, we have created new knowledge and innovations in development models that extend far beyond the programme itself. It is a powerful example of what can be achieved when people come together across boundaries to create opportunities, empower others and deliver lasting impact.

“Many thanks to all the students and to all the academic colleagues who contributed to making the week a success for all the students and the entrepreneurs, especially Caroline Curtis, Denise- Francis-Brown, Deborah Rose, Jenni Baptiste and Dominic Akhavan-Moossavi."

The Rwanda Fashion Entrepreneurs Programme directly contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 4: Quality Education, 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth and 17: Partnerships for the Goals. Since 2019, the University of Westminster has used the SDGs holistically to frame strategic decisions to help students and colleagues fulfil their potential and contribute to a more sustainable, equitable and healthier society.

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