{"id":11226,"date":"2025-10-29T16:49:39","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T15:49:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/africafashiontour.com\/the-fly-incubator-an-initiative-of-ifm-and-seme-city-in-benin\/"},"modified":"2025-10-29T16:49:39","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T15:49:39","slug":"the-fly-incubator-an-initiative-of-ifm-and-seme-city-in-benin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/africafashiontour.com\/en\/the-fly-incubator-an-initiative-of-ifm-and-seme-city-in-benin\/","title":{"rendered":"The FLY incubator, an initiative of IFM and S\u00e8m\u00e8 City in Benin"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3 data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\">A strategic alliance for excellence<\/h3>\n<p>The FLY program has established itself as a veritable catalyst of transformation for young fashion entrepreneurs in West Africa. For twelve months, 19 brands, mainly from Benin, benefited from a unique hybrid scheme: <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Intensive <strong>academic training<\/strong> provided by IFM teachers (Paris).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Strategic mentoring<\/strong> and individual coaching tailored to the needs of each project.<\/li>\n<li>International <strong>networking<\/strong> and access to a dedicated workspace on the S\u00e8m\u00e8 City campus.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This alliance makes it possible to promote creativity deeply <strong>rooted in African heritages<\/strong>, while integrating the recognized standards and expertise of the international fashion industry. The program confronts participants with the realities of the marketplace, helping them to assert a strong creative identity and structure a viable business model. <\/p>\n<h3>From Benin to the world stage: revealing creative potential<\/h3>\n<p>The highlight of this first cohort was <strong>Demo Day<\/strong>, held on June 17, 2025 in S\u00e8m\u00e8 City. In front of an audience of professionals, investors and journalists, the 19 brands presented their projects, the fruit of a year of creative maturation. The creations revealed &#8211; garments inspired by local textile traditions, innovative collections or accessories bearing cultural narratives &#8211; demonstrated the strong potential of these young talents.  <\/p>\n<p>As Claude Borna, Managing Director of S\u00e8m\u00e8 City, points out: &#8220;The Fashion Led by Youth (FLY) program embodies our vision of a Benin that is resolutely banking on the creative potential of its youth. Through FLY, we offer much more than support: we provide a framework for dreaming big, revealing talent and giving birth to bold new brands capable of shining in Benin and beyond.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>A sustainable dynamic for the future of industry<\/h3>\n<p>FLY&#8217;s ambition does not stop with this first promotion. By investing in the cultural and creative industries, S\u00e8m\u00e8 City and the IFM are helping to position Benin as an <strong>emerging creative hub in Africa<\/strong>. <\/p>\n<p>Xavier Romatet, Managing Director of the Institut Fran\u00e7ais de la Mode, confirms: &#8220;This first cycle of the FLY program is the start of a promising dynamic, which is set to grow. A new class will be launched by the end of the year, with the same ambition: to reveal bold, contemporary and competitive African fashion on international markets.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>This partnership of excellence is an essential milestone for sustainable cooperation between African and international institutions, paving the way for collaborations, fund-raising and the launch of marketed collections on the global scene.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>Read also<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/africafashiontour.com\/en\/natasha-bibi-derenne-associate-director-of-international-programs-at-hec-paris\/\">Natasha Bibi-Derenne, Associate Director of International Programs at HEC Paris<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/africafashiontour.com\/en\/the-rise-of-the-tongoro-brand\/\">The rise of the Tongoro brand<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Launched in 2024, the FLY (Fashion Led by Youth) incubator is the fruit of a strategic partnership between the Institut Fran\u00e7ais de la Mode (IFM) and S\u00e8m\u00e8 City in Benin, supported by the World Bank.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11222,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[147],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mode-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/africafashiontour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/africafashiontour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/africafashiontour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africafashiontour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africafashiontour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11226"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/africafashiontour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11226\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africafashiontour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/africafashiontour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africafashiontour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africafashiontour.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}