Why do we love African Fashion Designers so much?

At Onuli, we’re passionate about building bridges between African designers and the global fashion community. That’s why we’re excited to introduce you to Toluwa Awodiya — a Nigerian-born, Canadian-based researcher partnering with us to explore the question "What motivates people to purchase African fashion brands?"

Toluwa (TOE-loo-wah) is a Nigerian-born, Canadian-based researcher with about seven years of experience working with product, marketing, and engineering teams to identify user needs and opportunities for developing and improving products and services. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Global Business and Digital Arts (Honours, Dean’s List) from the University of Waterloo. She is currently completing a Master’s degree in Anthropology and Professional Practice at University College London. Family and friends will likely describe her as someone who travels a lot, reads a lot and asks too many questions (to which she’ll say there is no such thing). 

Toluwa Awodiya.

For her study, Toluwa is taking a close look at Onuli's customer base — Toluwa’s work will further explore what drives people to purchase from African fashion brands.

We’re honoured to collaborate with her and excited about the insights her study will unlock, helping us better serve our community while promoting the work of African designers globally. 

Join the study by booking time with Toluwa here: scheduling linkfor a 90-minute online anonymous interview—deadline May 30th 2025. 

Stay tuned for more as we dig deeper into the heart of what makes African fashion so powerful.