Where African Fashion Law Comes Together — And Moves Forward.
PAFALAPS is the continent's only annual summit for fashion law and policy. The Pan-African Fashion Policy Fellowship is the continent's only immersive training programme for the lawyers and advocates who will shape it. Two programmes. One mission.
Two Programmes. One Purpose.
The Summit That Sets the Agenda. The Fellowship That Builds the People to Deliver It.
Every year, PAFALAPS brings Africa's fashion law community together to assess where the continent stands — and where it needs to go. The Pan-African Fashion Policy Fellowship ensures there is always a new generation of trained, committed professionals ready to do the work that follows.
Together, they are the most significant investment FLI Africa makes in the future of fashion law in Africa.
Annual Summit · Fully Virtual · Pan-African
PAFALAPS — Pan-African Fashion Law & Policy Summit
The Pan-African Fashion Law & Policy Summit is FLI Africa's flagship annual convening — a full-day virtual summit that draws together the legal practitioners, policymakers, academics, country coordinators, and researchers who are actively shaping fashion law across Africa's 54 countries.
PAFALAPS is not a general fashion event. It is a specialist legal and policy forum built for professionals who understand that the legal architecture governing Africa's fashion industry determines who benefits from its growth, who is protected when things go wrong, and which traditions survive into the next generation.
Each edition of PAFALAPS culminates in the official launch of The State of Fashion Law and Policy in Africa — the continent's most comprehensive annual report on fashion law developments, published and distributed to practitioners, policymakers, and international organisations on summit day.
What Happens at PAFALAPS
Keynote Addresses
Opening and closing keynotes from Africa's foremost fashion law scholars, policy advocates, and industry leaders — setting the intellectual agenda for the year ahead.
Expert Panel Discussions
Thematic deep-dives into the most pressing issues in African fashion law: IP reform, model rights, sustainability regulation, AI and digital fashion, trade policy, cultural heritage protection, and more.
Regional Presentations
FLI Africa's country coordinators take the floor — presenting legal and policy developments, challenges, and priorities from across East, West, Southern, Central, and North Africa.
Annual Report Launch
The summit's defining moment: the live launch of The State of Fashion Law and Policy in Africa, with formal presentations, Q&A, and continent-wide distribution on the day.
Who Attends
- IP, trade, and cultural property lawyers
- Policymakers and government officials in fashion, trade, and culture
- Legal academics and policy researchers
- FLI Africa country coordinators and regional representatives
- Law students and fellows entering the field
- International organisations and development partners working in African creative economies
The Annual Report
The State of Fashion Law and Policy in Africa is the continent's most authoritative annual assessment of fashion law — covering legislative changes, landmark decisions, regulatory progress, and emerging legal issues across every region of Africa. Required reading for anyone serious about the field.
The summit identifies the work.
The Fellowship produces the people to carry it out.
Annual Cohort · Fully Remote · Stipended
Pan-African Fashion Policy Fellowship
The Pan-African Fashion Policy Fellowship is FLI Africa's most immersive professional development programme — placing early-to-mid career lawyers, policy researchers, and communications professionals at the centre of our work building fashion law across Africa.
Fellows are not observers. Over nine months, they are active contributors — producing original research, shaping programmes, running campaigns, and completing a capstone project that makes a genuine contribution to the field. They leave with a track record, a network, and a deep understanding of what it takes to advance fashion law at continental scale.
The Fellowship is fully remote, requires 15–20 hours per week, and runs once a year. All Fellows receive a stipend. Outstanding capstone work is considered for publication in the Journal of African Fashion Law.
The Three Fellowship Tracks
Research & Policy
Conduct original legal and policy research, contribute to FLI Africa's flagship publications including the annual State of Fashion Law Report, draft policy briefs, and support legislative advocacy.
Ideal for: Lawyers, legal academics, policy analysts, researchers.
Programs & Events
Design and deliver FLI Africa's programmes — from the Fashion Legal Clinic to PAFALAPS itself. Manage timelines, coordinate partners, and ensure every programme meets its objectives.
Ideal for: Legal services, project management, event production.
Communications & Digital
Build FLI Africa's public presence — producing content, managing campaigns, running our media platforms, and growing our digital reach across the continent.
Ideal for: Legal communicators, journalists, digital professionals.
Fellowship Structure at a Glance
- Duration 9 months
- Format Fully remote, 15–20 hrs/week
- Intake One cohort per year
- Stipend Paid
- Capstone Required, publishable
What Fellows Receive
- Monthly stipend
- Senior mentorship from FLI Africa leadership and expert practitioners
- Publication opportunity across FLI Africa's platforms
- Consideration for the Journal of African Fashion Law
- Formal certification upon completion
- Access to FLI Africa's pan-African professional network
- Priority consideration for future FLI Africa positions
Special Monthly Sessions
Industry Insight Days
Monthly access to leaders from across Africa's fashion, legal, and policy worlds — brand founders, senior IP attorneys, trade officials, sustainability practitioners, government figures. Direct exposure to the people and perspectives shaping the field.
Open House Sessions
Monthly all-cohort sessions where Fellows across all three tracks share progress, exchange feedback, workshop ideas, and build the community that sustains their work beyond the Fellowship year.
Capstone Focus Areas
Who Should Apply
The Fellowship is designed for early-to-mid career professionals and academics who arrive with a clear project focus and the drive to see it through.
We welcome lawyers and legal professionals with interests in IP, trade, cultural heritage, or creative economy law; policy researchers and analysts working on fashion, textiles, or sustainable development; academics and graduate researchers pursuing original fashion law scholarship; sustainability and CSR professionals bringing environmental law expertise to the industry; and legal communicators, journalists, and digital strategists with a policy focus.
Come to the Summit. Join the Fellowship. Build the Future.
PAFALAPS and the Pan-African Fashion Policy Fellowship are the two most direct ways to engage with the work of building fashion law in Africa — whether you are a senior practitioner or just starting out.