Get Guardian on GoogleA fabric care company, CleanAce Drycleaners and launderers Solution, has pledged to strengthen hygiene and safety in Nigeria’s healthcare system through professional laundry training focused on hospitality, medical laundry, and infection control, following its emergence as global best and the world’s second-best in the Retail Textile Cleaning category at the CINET Global Best Practices Awards 2026 in Milan, Italy.
The company, which received the international recognition on October 22 and 23, was ranked second globally in the Retail Textile Cleaning BIG category, scoring 83.63 out of 100, less than six points behind the first-placed company.
The recognition also saw CleanAce emerge as the only African finalist in the category, placing it first in Africa ahead of brands from India, Malaysia, the Netherlands, France, Canada and the United States.
Speaking on the achievement at a press conference, Co-Founder and Group Chief Executive Officer of CleanAce Drycleaners, Eniibukun Adebayo, said the recognition would create opportunities to improve professional textile care standards across Africa, particularly in healthcare delivery.
He said the company would adopt world-class professional textile care principles in its training programmes and industry development efforts, with emphasis on sustainable practices that protect the environment.
According to him, the proposed training would focus on hospitality, medical laundry and infection control to strengthen hygiene and safety across the healthcare system.
Adebayo disclosed that more than 80 companies from 23 countries were nominated for the awards and assessed by an independent international jury.
Beyond its global ranking, CleanAce received the Country Best Practices Award 2026 for Nigeria, the Entrepreneurship Award 2026, one of only two presented worldwide, and the CINET Special Award 2026 for Corporate Social Responsibility, presented by the organisation’s board.
The company also received a token of appreciation for speaking at the global convention.
He described the achievement as a victory for Nigeria and Africa, noting that Nigeria was the only African country among the 17 countries that received Country Best Practices Awards.
Adebayo said the achievement was particularly significant because the company had operated in Nigeria despite unreliable electricity supply, high diesel costs, water treatment challenges and the need to train its own technicians.
He traced the company’s journey to 1991, when he began working at his father’s laundromat, which he described as Nigeria’s first automated laundromat.
According to him, the experience exposed him to the absence of formal training, standards and a clear career path in the textile care industry, prompting his determination to promote professionalism and international best practices.
Adebayo said the company built its reputation through consistent service delivery, one garment and one customer at a time, eventually becoming Africa’s first ISO 9001:2015-certified drycleaner.
On the company’s social impact, he said its Corporate Social Responsibility recognition reflected its investment in people through training, inclusion and community support.
He disclosed that CleanAce established the Fabricare Institute in 2017, which is accredited by the Lagos State Technical and Vocational Education Board (LASTVEB) and described as Nigeria’s first government-approved private fabricare institute.
Through the institute and its training initiatives, the company has trained and impacted more than 50,000 entrepreneurs, technicians and operators, particularly through monthly masterclasses fully sponsored by LG Electronics.
He added that CleanAce had also trained persons with hearing impairment for almost 10 years, with 30 additional beneficiaries trained in 2026 with support from the MTN Foundation.
The company, he said, was seeking sponsorship to train at least 360 persons with disabilities in 2027, stressing that inclusion should not be treated as charity but as an opportunity for everyone to participate.
Adebayo also highlighted the company’s Clothe the Needy initiative, through which customers donate garments at its outlets for distribution to people in need. He said the project had provided clean clothing to beneficiaries for about a decade.
On efforts to develop the textile care industry, he said his role as Chairman of the Fabricare Professionals and Drycleaners Association (FPDA) had involved building structures to address the industry’s longstanding challenges.
These include organising operators across states, providing free monthly Fabricare Masterclasses, developing national occupational standards with FPDA members for accreditation by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), organising CleanShow Africa and conducting a survey of 235 operators, which now forms part of CINET’s Africa Report.
He acknowledged the contributions of LG Electronics and its representative, Samuel Odenusi, to the CleanAce-LG Fabricare Masterclass series, as well as Olubunmi Gbadamosi and FPDA members for their contributions to industry development.
Adebayo said the company’s broader ambition, which it describes as Project Light Up Africa, was not merely to develop a business but to build a continental textile care industry.
He said Africa remained a largely untapped market for professional textile care, adding that the company intended to position African operators to compete with international standards.
“Others build laundries. We are building an industry,” he said, arguing that Africa offered opportunities for professional operators to shape the sector for generations.
On the opportunities created by the international recognition, Adebayo announced plans to establish a shared back-end facility for small-scale textile care entrepreneurs.
He said the proposed hub-and-spoke facility, designed to process 25,000 pieces daily, would serve 50 collection-centre operators, enabling smaller businesses to deliver services that meet big-business quality standards without the cost of independently operating full-scale cleaning plants.
He also disclosed plans to work with relevant stakeholders to promote sustainable professional textile care practices and improve industry training.
As part of efforts to strengthen professional standards, he said the FPDA would propose to CINET that Nigeria host its own Best Practices Awards in 2027, providing operators with industry benchmarks and attracting sponsorship to the sector.
Adebayo further announced that the second edition of CleanShow Africa would hold from May 25 to 27, 2027, at the Landmark Event Centre, Lagos, the venue of the inaugural edition.
He said European equipment manufacturers had already indicated interest in exhibiting at the event, which would feature masterclasses and competitions in garment finishing, pressing and professional stain removal to encourage career development among technicians.
He added that the association looked forward to collaborating with the NBTE and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to develop practical training curricula and standardise the industry.
The CleanAce chief executive also called on fashion houses and garment manufacturers to adopt proper care labels on clothing to provide textile care professionals with the necessary instructions and extend the lifespan of garments.
He said every garment produced and worn in Nigeria deserved professional care.
LG Electronics commended its partnership with CleanAce Laundry Solution for promoting the adoption of its commercial laundry systems in Nigeria, describing the collaboration as a mutually beneficial relationship that has strengthened both brands.
The Business-to-Business-to-Consumer (B2B2C) Manager of LG Electronics, Mr. Samuel Odenusi, said the CleanAce brand had played a significant role in spreading awareness of LG’s commercial laundry systems among players in Nigeria’s laundry and dry-cleaning industry.
Odenusi said the success recorded by LG’s commercial laundry products in Nigeria was largely linked to its relationship with CleanAce Laundry Solution.
He said: “The CleanAce brand has really helped spread the gospel of LG commercial laundry systems among the laundry and dry-cleaning industry in Nigeria.
“The success that the product has recorded in Nigeria today stemmed from the relationship with CleanAce Laundry Solution. Our team is supporting and partnering with CleanAce, and it is a win-win situation for both brands.”
He described the award CleanAce received in Milan as further evidence of the partnership’s impact, attributing the recognition to consistency.
According to him, the achievement demonstrates that Nigeria’s laundry and dry-cleaning industry has the capacity to compete on the global stage.
Odenusi said the recognition was a collective victory for all stakeholders in the industry, adding that LG was proud to be associated with CleanAce Laundry Solution.
The award, he said, also reflected the value of the partnership between the two brands.
The Lagos State Office for Disability Affairs (LASODA) congratulated CleanAce Nigeria on its international recognition, describing the achievement as a shared success.
The representative of the General Manager of LASODA, Mr Folorunso Viavonu, said the agency was delighted to be associated with the company’s success.
“A big congratulations to everyone at CleanAce, and that also includes LASODA, because this success is a shared one. It makes us happy at LASODA that we are part of this, and it gladdens our hearts,” he said.
