It is always a pleasure to travel with « Twitter Airlines« ! I have made beautiful encounters and one of those days when I was looking for a good fragrance in the Banjul International Airport Duty-Free, I met the founder and creator of Gambia’s most comfortable undergarments. As we talked, I came to realise that not only does the brand provide quality underwears, but it also contributes to the social and economic development and protection of the Gambian population and environment. I so much love to see brands which do not only sell beautiful and quality items and but give back to society. Facil Clothing has so much to say about their journey and has accepted to share this touching and inspiring story with us! Let’s roll…
Chez Mona Accessoires et Parfums: I am happy to finally conduct this interview with you. It was not easy to reach out but we are here now. Thank you for your time and availability. So, tell us! Who is the brain behind Facil Clothing and how did you come up with the idea of setting up the brand? How did it all start?
Facil Clothing: Facil Clothing was started by me, Elizabeth Gomez, together with my partner Henrik Bergström. I am born and raised in Gambia, but moved to Sweden over 20 years ago. I’ve been wanting to do something for my home country for a long time, but didn’t know what since there were so many possibilities and opportunities. There’s so much that needs to be done to develop Gambia. My main reason for starting a company in Gambia is to create jobs, as a way to show the youth that it’s possible to build a future in Gambia, instead of trying to get to Europe or somewhere else. The reason for starting an underwear brand is that I got more and more requests from family and friends in Gambia to bring underwear when I came to visit them. In Gambia and many other African countries the only underwear available is second hand clothing or low quality imports. I wanted to change all this and offer comfortable underwear which people are proud to wear.
CMAP: The name of your brand sounds French-like. What prompted you to name your brand Facil Clothing?
FC: Facil means easy or simple in French and several other languages, and we want to make it easy for people in Africa to buy quality underwear, T-shirts and other basic clothing. Another reason for why we included the word Facil in our company name is that we found out that there’s a luxury restaurant in Berlin which is called Facil. The interior and architecture of the restaurant is minimalistic and simple, but the food is amazing. We try to do the same with our clothing. They look simple, but are very comfortable.
CMAP: On the brand’s Facebook page you announced receiving the Honorary Award at the Impact StartUp Sweden accelerator intake 2020. Could you tell us more on this award and on what base were you awarded?
FC: Yes, it was a great honor and a big surprise to me. I and Facil Clothing were invited to take part in the Impact StartUp Sweden accelerator program during the first half of 2020. The final event of the program was a pitch competition and it was at this competition that I was awarded the price. One of the reasons for receiving the award was for the work we did in Gambia to support the fight against Covid-19. We switched our production from underwear and T-shirts to reusable cloth face masks in May and after that we have received orders for several thousand face masks from medical organisations and businesses in the Gambia.
CMAP: I believe every business and every brand is unique. What is the difference between your products and the others of the same range in The Gambia? How many collections of undergarments do you have so far? And apart from underwear what other items do you produce?
FC: Facil Clothing is the only producer of underwear in Gambia and most likely in the whole of Africa. At least the only producer who manufactures for the African market. There are other producers in Africa, but they usually produce for the European or US market. Many of these companies are also owned by foreigners, while Facil Clothing is founded and owned by me, who am from Gambia. The difference between our products and other products available on the Gambia market is that we focus on quality. We work mainly with basic everyday underwear, so we don’t have traditional collections. Instead we introduce new colours and waistbands with African inspired prints from time to time. Apart from underwear, we also produce tank tops and T-shirts. We also manufacture for designers who need a small quantity of garments. We have also made bodycon dresses, pants and a few other items to demonstrate what we’re able to do and showed them at Fashion Weekend Gambia – the biggest yearly fashion event in Gambia.
CMAP: Celebrating success is one thing but the other side of the bridge is not always bloomy. What are the challenges you have faced so far?
FC: Since we started Facil Clothing in February 2017 we have faced many challenges. We have had to train all our staff since there are no schools in Gambia who teach fashion design, pattern making, industrial sewing and clothing manufacturing. We’ve had to install solar panels and batteries, since electricity supply in Gambia isn’t reliable. Since there are no manufacturers of stretch jersey fabric in Gambia, or anywhere else in Africa – as far as we know – we’ve had to import fabric and all other materials we need. Finding good manufacturers of fabric who have reasonable minimum order quantities and reasonable prices is a big challenge. Shipping material to Gambia is also a big challenge since it usually takes several months and costs quite a lot. Finding customers is also very hard, especially for a small manufacturer like us who cannot compete on price with second hand clothing and cheap imports from Asia.
CMAP: Knowing how difficult it is to be an entrepreneur in Africa, it is always a pleasure for me to see fashion brands that have an impact on the African youth and the African community in general. Through your brand what are some of the achievements you have successfully carried out so far?
FC: Our biggest achievement is that we have trained 26 young women and employed 14, giving them stable jobs with more than living wages. This income, security and stability has allowed our skilled women to transform their lives – and the lives of their families – in several substantial ways.
CMAP: Looking at importation which is one of the main challenges faced by entrepreneurs in Africa, how do you manage to sell your products and compete with other brands, both local and international?
FC: The importation of second hand clothing and low quality products from Asia has severely distorted the consumers perception of what’s a reasonable price. This is not unique to Gambia or Africa. Even in the US or Europe, importation of low cost products makes it very hard for local manufacturers to compete. This means that we have to educate consumers on the differences in quality between our products and cheap imports. We also have to educate consumers on the importance of buying locally made products, when it comes to the development of the country. Another challenge of importation are high customs duties on the raw materials we need to produce our clothing. These costs are impossible to avoid since the raw materials we need are not available in Gambia. All this makes it very hard for us to compete on price. The way we take on this challenge is by providing high consistent quality on everything we produce.
CMAP: The advent of the Covid-19 has had a negative impact in the entrepreneurship sector and the fashion industry was not an exception. How did you manage to keep up with your sales?
FC: As I mentioned above, we had to switch our production from underwear and T-shirts to reusable cloth face masks. We had to invest in new machines, but the investment turned out to be what saved us since it allowed us to take on quite large orders from both medical organisations and businesses who wanted to buy face masks to protect their staff, patients and customers. Without this investment and these customers, we would have zero sales since April or May. That would have been devastating for our business, so we are very grateful for all the orders we received.
CMAP: Tell us about your proudest moments since the beginning of your journey in this project. Do you have any plans or projects you will like to share?
FC: The skilled women who work at Facil make me proud all the time, and especially when I notice that their skills have improved a lot or when they achieve something they thought was impossible. I also become very proud when I notice that they have become a lot more confident and agree to take on bigger projects or more responsibility. I’m also very proud when customers tell me that the underwear or T-shirts they bought from Facil are the most comfortable they have worn and that they can’t believe that they are made in Gambia. This is especially important to me, since one important reason why I started Facil is to show Gambians and Africans that everything is possible. We can do anything and this will help us create a better future for Africa.
CMAP: It was a pleasure having you with us. Your story is inspiring. Thanks for sharing it with us.
FC: Thank you for allowing us to share our story and our dreams for a future in Gambia and Africa. A future where a lot of the products we buy on a daily basis are made in Gambia or Africa. We truly believe that if Africans support African brands, the development of Africa countries will grow much sooner and reach much higher.
I am overwhealmed! With what I had heard so far, I think and I can proudly say that Africa is toping its game in the clothing and fashion industry. Lately we have been hearing of sustainable fashion, digitalisation in fashion, industrialisation of African fashion. Facil Clothing is taking into consideration all these aspects and we can only wish them lots of success as they grow in their business. Check the brands website and social media pages to see their latest updates:
Webiste: https://facilclothing.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/facilclothing/?ref=page_internal
