Connecting the Continent to the Diaspora through Fashion: The 2026 Anka Marketplace Pop-Up in New York City
Sunday, July 19th, 2026 marked the end of one of the biggest pop-ups for African fashion in New York City, the Anka Marketplace pop-up. It was a time of connection, celebration, and community, all rooted in African fashion, and it was somewhere that you definitely needed to be. Alas, not everyone could make it, and that’s okay because we are here to tell you all about it.
Cowrie Shell bags by Tru Face by Grace photographed by Meloseri Dumnoi
Anka Marketplace is a digital shopping platform that connects African businesses worldwide with consumers across the globe. The product selection on the platform ranges from clothing to home decor to groceries. It’s one of its kind, and it has had a huge impact on the African fashion industry, platforming creatives and entrepreneurs, and making them accessible to the world. It was founded in 2016 by Moulaye Tabouré, Kadry Diallo, and Luc Perussault Diallo and acquired by Matilda Ceesay, CEO of Global Shop (who was present at the in-person event). The mission has always stayed the same: To platform African artisans and connect them to the world. Only this time, they did it in person in New York City.
Ekinken was present on July 17th, 2026, and we saw something so beautiful. We saw people who waited for weeks to come shop from designers that they had been admiring from afar, while others remembered hearing about it on social media and decided to pop in and see what they had going on. The pop-up featured brands from Togo, Ghana, Nigeria, the United States of America, Canada, and Côte d'Ivoire. These brands were: Bobo, Tru Face by Grace, Larry Jay, The M Label, Or ‘Noir Crochet, Bibiré, Bazara Pagne, Dexy Creation, and Titi Belo. A dashing array representing multiple countries and cultures from the continent of Africa.
The Anka Marketplace pop-up wasn’t just a community or shopping event, but it solved a problem that has been plaguing lovers of African fashion across the globe and African designers as well.
The Problem Being Solved
When ordering things intercontinentally, there can be a lot of issues including shipping fees, tariffs, delays, or packages simply being lost. We’ve heard of the issue, and some of us have even experienced the issue firsthand. To have a curated place where you can get pieces that you’ve been tracking for months or even years is a dream come true. To be able to get something that you love without having to budget for a surprise tax or chase people down using WhatsApp because an outfit couldn’t cross a border is a weight lifted off your shoulders as a consumer. The socio-political state of the world has been a growing burden on businesses across continents, and Anka Marketplace took it upon itself to solve one of those problems through its pop-up. Not to mention that a lot of people would rather try before they buy a piece that will remain a part of their collection for years to come, and this pop-up allows them to do so seamlessly.
The Impact of the Pop-Up
Anka Marketplace has had a grand impact on both the consumers and the artisans throughout this pop-up. From increasing discoverability to creating a space where lovers of the African fashion industry can meet in the middle, they are doing something that will be documented for years to come because their impact runs deep. It’s not just a hastily set-up operation to make money, no, that’s not what this was at all. It was a breath of fresh air on 371 Canal Street, New York, New York. A space to meet up and revel in pieces you’ve only seen on the Lagos Fashion Week runway or online via Instagram. They became real before you even swiped your card, and when it comes to the fashion experience, this is extremely important. They brought the experience to New York City, and we absolutely love seeing it!
The designers, the brand ambassadors, the organizers, the hosts, and the consumers made the 5-day pop-up a success! We believe that it also helped that the CEO of Anka Marketplace had such a hands-on approach to making sure that this was an event for the books! Matilda Ceesay was a joy to see in action and witness her doing what we experience virtually in real life, which is connecting the arts of the continent to the world. It was smooth sailing, great fashions, high levels of excitement, and happiness all the way around! A success!
Stay tuned for anything new Anka Marketplace might be doing by following them on social media platforms and staying tuned to their website for any new designers and artisans that might be putting their work out there for the world to see and consume!
