The International Trade Centre has unveiled a new report titled Reshaping African-Caribbean Trade: Opportunities for Economic Transformation’, opening pathways for deepening trade and economic cooperation between Africa and the Caribbean.
The unveiling took place yesterday, at the CANEX WKND 2026 event hall at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts, National Theatre Complex, Iganmu, Lagos.
Speaking at the conference, which was graced by prominent business personalities from across the diaspora, the president of the STAR Film Institute in The Bahamas, Kerel Hall Pinder, said funding is not the only answer for African-Caribbean collaboration to work.
Ideation, collaboration, quality, visibility and partnership attachment, funding and opportunities, and ownership are also key factors that should be addressed quickly when funding is discussed.
“A lot of times we say funding is the answer, but I think it’s more than just funding.
“And I can’t sell, market, or know if it’s good if I’m not creating something that the market wants. If I don’t have the visibility of celebrities attached to it, and also if you didn’t have the time to create the idea together”, she said.
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Also speaking film-maker, actor, producer and director from Uganda, Nodryn Evanci Kabuye, credited the International Trade Centre for backing her work, saying the support helped her learn that filmmaking is about more than making a good film.
“Both my films, Half Cup of Teahouse Vanilla, and You Make me So Bright, have been supported by ITC.”
She added that You Make me So Bright Goodbye is a collaborative project with six other producers, and it taught her the importance of planning ahead.
“I learned that filmmaking is not just about making a good project, but having a plan in place,” she said. “And that is mainly distribution and a market plan.”
Founder of Tialani fashion brand, Tia Olton from Barbados, opined that staying true to her identity and heritage carried her through seven to eight years in business, even when others did not believe in her.
“I’ve been in business for about seven to eight years, and to get to where I’m now, it took a lot of dedication, a lot of sort of belief for myself, even when other people didn’t believe in myself, to stay true to my identity,” she said, adding:
“Staying true to where you come from, your heritage, that will carry you through everything you put forth in your life, not just for business, but like in general.”
According to her, preparation opened doors, including her own independent fashion show during American Fashion Week, presenting her work at Ghana Fashion Week, and working with the International Trade Centre.
Founder and CEO of Deluxe by Mariam, said she started her modest fashion brand in The Gambia after struggling to find beautiful, elegant designs at home.
Her love for modest fashion is what pushed her into designing. “My journey started with my passion for modesty. I always wanted to create something beautiful, elegant, and unique,” she said. She explained that finding such designs in The Gambia was a challenge, saying, “I find it difficult to get those designs in The Gambia. So, before I started creating my brand, I used to order them outside The Gambia, which was very expensive.”
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Out of that experience, she founded Deluxe by Mariam to bring luxury modest wear closer to home. “Through those struggles, I created Deluxe by Mariam, to make things for everyone, and luxury, and so that other ladies or women should get access to those designs, rather than buying them from outside The Gambia, which is very expensive,” she said.
For her, fashion goes beyond beautiful sketches. “Creative visual work, and how do you use this little design is not enough. It is more than that in the fashion,” she noted.
“You need to turn those ideas into a strong business and have to know the people, what they want and study their preference.”
