--- description: Find out why Omoyemi Akerele is on TIME's 2025 list of the 100 most influential leaders driving business climate action. title: Omoyemi Akerele: The 100 Most Influential Climate Leaders of 2025 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt47108e5e2c2e43f2/6998caf283ec37e724c7b0df/Catalyst-Omoyemi-Akerele.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Oct 30, 2025 # Omoyemi Akerele Founding Director, Lagos Fashion Week by [Kyla Mandel](/author/kyla-mandel/) ## Kyla Mandel Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mandel is a senior editor at TIME.  Photo-Illustration by TIME (Source Photo: Shane Anthony Sinclair—BFC/Getty Images) This year marks the 15th Lagos Fashion Week, and since Omoyemi Akerele launched it in 2011 it has become one of the most influential fashion events in Africa—and a powerhouse for sustainability. The fashion week is produced by Akerele’s Style House Files, a fashion business development agency that [puts the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals at its core](https://sdgs.un.org/partnerships/lagos-fashion-week "undefined"), including promoting climate action and waste reduction. All designers participating in the fashion week must show a true commitment to sustainability. "By constantly amplifying brands whose practices can be clearly traced and assessed, Lagos Fashion Week ensures that sustainability is not a label but a lived reality,” says Akerele. This year, Akerele was named a climate fellow at [Yale’s Jackson School of Global Affairs](https://jackson.yale.edu/person/omoyemi-akerele/ "undefined"), and she is a 2025 [Earthshot prize finalist](https://earthshotprize.org/winners-finalists/lagos-fashion-week/ "undefined"), in recognition of Lagos Fashion Week’s commitment to showcasing designers committed to sustainability. Among the event’s flagship initiatives is[ Green Access](https://lagosfashionweek.ng/greenaccess "undefined"), launched in 2018 as an accelerator platform to support new talent committed to environmentally-friendly practices. Meanwhile its [Woven Threads](https://lagosfashionweek.ng/woven-threads-iii "undefined") initiative showcases innovation, from upcycling to new eco-friendly materials and circular design. “The African fashion industry stands at a critical juncture, poised to balance growth with environmental responsibility. Leveraging our cultural heritage, traditional practices, and innovative spirit, we can forge a unique path to sustainable development,” Akerele once [described](https://businessday.ng/interview/article/lagos-fashion-week-is-a-pivotal-stepping-stone/ "undefined"). “Our rich history of resourcefulness, up cycling, and crafting with purpose provides a solid foundation for this journey.” **Correction, Oct. 31** _The original version of this story misstated the results of the Earthshot Prize. Lagos Fashion week is a 2025 finalist, but the results have yet to be announced._ Omoyemi Akerele: The 100 Most Influential Climate Leaders of 2025 ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time-100-climate-2025/7326610/omoyemi-akerele/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time-100-climate-2025/7326610/omoyemi-akerele/"},"headline":"Omoyemi Akerele","datePublished":"2025-10-30T11:30:16.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T01:01:52.564Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/time-100-climate-2025/7326610/omoyemi-akerele/","keywords":["TIME100 Climate 2025","list","franchise","Magazine","Special Project","sponsorshipblock","Accolades"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt47108e5e2c2e43f2/6998caf283ec37e724c7b0df/Catalyst-Omoyemi-Akerele.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kyla Mandel","jobTitle":"Mandel is a senior editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/kyla-mandel/"}],"creator":"Kyla Mandel","articleSection":"Climate","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt47108e5e2c2e43f2/6998caf283ec37e724c7b0df/Catalyst-Omoyemi-Akerele.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/climate/","name":"Climate"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time100-climate-2025/","name":"TIME100 Climate 2025"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/time-100-climate-2025/7326610/omoyemi-akerele/","name":"Omoyemi Akerele"}}]}] ```