After more than two decades of setting the pace for Uganda’s style scene, the Uganda International Fashion Week (UIFW) is back, this time bigger, bolder, and with a deeper purpose.
Set for June 22nd–27th at the Kampala Serena Hotel, the 2026 edition is not just about glamour and runway moments. It signals a powerful shift: fashion as a serious business and a tool for economic transformation.
At the heart of this evolution is a newly launched Creative Economy Program (2026–2028), an ambitious initiative targeting nearly 10,000 young people, most of them women and girls.
Backed by the Mastercard Foundation, the program aims to turn raw talent into real opportunity through hands-on training, mentorship, and direct access to markets.
Founded in 2003 by designer Santa Anzo, UIFW has long been a gateway for Ugandan creatives to step onto the global stage. But now, it’s going beyond the spotlight into workshops, production lines, and boardrooms.
“We don’t just exhibit fashion, we build livelihoods,” Anzo says, a vision that comes alive through a program designed to touch every layer of the fashion value chain, from design and modeling to manufacturing and business development.
This year’s showcase will still deliver the signature flair UIFW is known for, but with a sharper edge, connecting designers to buyers, creatives to investors, and ideas to income.
Organized by ARAPAPA in partnership with the International Trade Centre and Bayimba Foundation, UIFW 2026 is positioning Uganda not just as a fashion destination but as a rising force in Africa’s creative economy.
Don’t want to miss out on any story? For updates on all Sqoop stories, follow this link on Telegram: https://t.me/Sqoop and Whatsapp: https://whatsapp.com/channel