About Us

Our Story

WovenMarketAfrica was founded in 2019 out of a passionate commitment to ensure that African handwoven textiles are not just preserved, but repositioned at the heart of global design innovation. We saw a critical gap: traditional African woven textiles were often underutilized, undervalued, and dangerously close to cultural erosion. We set out to change that narrative.

We began our journey with a small network of weavers in Southwestern Nigeria. As interest and orders grew, we expanded, partnering with other indigenous weaving communities who have preserved their craft for generations.

What started as a passion project has evolved into a bold movement to institutionalize handweaving as a staple in global fashion, bridal couture, interior architecture, and the art and film industries. Today, we serve a growing network of designers and stylists across Africa, Europe, and North America.

expertly cared for aso oke by woven market africa. How to properly care for your aso oke fabric

Our Mission

To preserve, elevate, and position African handwoven textiles as foundational and irreplaceable materials across the global design economy.

Our Vision

To build the largest, most dynamic marketplace for authentic African handwoven textiles, ensuring every designer, creative director, stylist, or art buyer can access and work with indigenous fabrics seamlessly and sustainably.

Core Values

  • Preservation Through Purpose: We see the loom not as a relic, but as a relevant tool for cultural preservation, creative expansion, and generational wealth.
  • Design Integrity: Our fabrics are made with excellence, storytelling, and modern functionality in mind.
  • Collaborative Growth: We grow together with weavers, with designers, with creative communities. Everyone’s contribution matters.
  • Transparency & Trust: We ensure fair wages, clear sourcing, and full visibility across our production processes.
  • Sustainability: We work with natural fibres, local dyes, and low-waste weaving techniques that honor the earth and future generations.

Our Long Game

We are building an industry blueprint. Woven Market Africa is here for the long haul: digitizing textile heritage, developing design-forward applications for traditional fabrics, and building scalable access through global partnerships and local training hubs.

In the next 10 years, we aim to:

  • Establish regional weaving academies and innovation labs in key textile communities
  • Launch a design incubator for young African creatives using handwoven textile
  • Partner with global retail platforms to stock WMA-exclusive fabrics
  • Build archival tools to document, tag, and preserve regional textile knowledge
  • Become the leading reference point for African handwoven fabric sourcing worldwide

Why We Exist

Because no culture deserves to lose its language. And in many African communities, the loom is a language. A mode of communication, a visual archive, a spiritual memory. We exist to amplify that language.

Woven Market Africa exists so that when a bride walks down the aisle, when a designer steps onto a runway, or when an artist unveils their masterpiece, the fabric holding it all together has meaning, history, and honor.

Join us on this journey. The future of African textiles is not a trend. It is a movement.