Lulu Shabell

Today, we are Marching for Change with Lulu Shabell, a mother, daughter, sister, and women’s advocate who builds pathways for prosperity at the intersection of Africa's creative industries and global capital markets. The Founder & CEO of LULUBELL Group, has spent two decades building scalable commercial ecosystems that transform African fashion and design into strategic economic assets—unlocking eight-figure valuations,forging cross-border partnerships, and demonstrating how cultural innovation drives inclusive growth.

Her market-building achievements include directing the global breakthrough of 90 designers from 30 African and Caribbean nations at Portugal Fashion; integrating African creators into France's luxury ecosystem through TRANOÏ Paris; leading Africa's representation at Dubai's AFRA World Fashion Confluence; and curating The

Mercado Project at Rockefeller Center—Africa's first year-long luxury retail showcase in the United States. Through her "Wear in the World" column for Robb Report Africa, she chronicles how African craftsmanship and sustainability innovation are reshaping global luxury markets.

Recognized among the Top 5 Women Transforming Africa's Fashion Ecosystem by Industrie Africa and among the Top 100 Women in African Fashion 2025 by The Fashion Law Institute, Lulu collaborates with multilateral organizations including the International Organization for Migration (IOM), UNESCO, and the UN Global Compact.

Through these partnerships, she shapes investment and sustainability frameworks that position creative industries as engines of job creation, technological adoption, and economic diversification.

Through LULUBELL Group, she bridges public and private sector interests—connecting designers, investors, policymakers, and civil society networks to build the partnerships essential for Africa's creative sector to achieve its full economic potential and continuing to contribute meaningfully to the continent's next era of growth.

Listen to Lulu’s inspring story.