CleanAce Drycleaners and Launderers has won four global awards at the 2026 CINET Global Best Practices Awards in Milan, Italy.
The awards included the Country Best Practices Award 2026 for Nigeria, the Entrepreneurship Award 2026, the 2026 CINET Special Award for Corporate Social Responsibility, and a Token of Appreciation for speaking at the global convention.
CleanAce Drycleaners and Launderers was also ranked 2nd in the world in the Retail Textile Cleaning BIG category and 1st in Africa, the only African finalist at the event.
The 2026 CINET Global Best Practices Awards were presented on 22 and 23 October, when the global textile care industry met in Milan. More than 80 companies from 23 countries were nominated and judged by an independent international jury.
Speaking at a press conference in Lagos on November 10, Eniibukun Adebayo, the Co-Founder and Group CEO of CleanAce Drycleaners and Launderers, said the four awards were a victory for Nigeria and Africa.
Adebayo said:
“Why are we here today? God always fulfils His Promises; The Ace among Cleaners.”
He welcomed guests including Folorunso Viavonu, the representative of the General Manager, Lagos State Office for Disability Affairs (LASODA); a partner from LG Electronics, Samuel Odenusi (B2B2C Manager); and the Vice Chairman of FPDA and Managing Director of Discount Drycleaners, Olubunmi Gbadamosi; members of the FPDA family, partners, CleanAce Drycleaners and Launderers staff, and gentlemen of the press.
Adebayo said CleanAce Drycleaners and Launderers scored 83.63 out of 100, less than 6 points behind the world’s number one.
He said:
“CleanAce Drycleaners and Launderers was ranked second in the world in the Retail Textile Cleaning BIG category, with a score of 83.63 out of 100, less than 6 points behind first place. We finished ahead of brands from India, Malaysia, the Netherlands, France, Canada and the United States, and we were the only African finalist and thus 1st in Africa.
This is a win for Nigeria and Africa at large. Of the 17 countries that received a Country Award, Nigeria was the only one from Africa.”
He said the feat was achieved despite Nigeria’s difficult business environment.
He said:
“We did it without reliable grid power, running on expensive diesel, treating our own water and training our own technicians. If excellence can be built in Lagos, it can be built anywhere in Africa.”
Adebayo traced the journey to 1991, when he entered his father’s laundromat.
He said:
“In 1991, I walked into my father’s laundromat, Nigeria’s first automated laundromat. There was no training, no standard and no career path, but the craving for professionalism and world-class standards became my calling.”
He said CleanAce Drycleaners and Launderers began in 2005 in a Gbagada apartment.
He said:
“In 2005, my wife and I started CleanAce Drycleaners and Launderers, washing clothes by hand in our apartment in Gbagada. We held one conviction: one day, Nigerian dry cleaners would stand on international platforms among the best in the world; today, that dream has come true by the Grace of God.
We built our standard one garment and one customer at a time, and CleanAce Drycleaners and Launderers became Africa’s first ISO 9001:2015-certified dry cleaner. We achieved this despite the hard realities of doing business in Nigeria, in an industry that is still unstructured, fragmented and unregulated.”
Adebayo explained the significance of each award won at the 2026 CINET Global Best Practices Awards.
The Entrepreneurship Award 2026, he said, was one of only two given worldwide. It was won on the strength of his defence before the jury that he was not building a business, but a continental industry.
The 2026 CINET Special Award for Corporate Social Responsibility, he said, was a special award from the CINET Board.
He said:
“The CSR award honours people, not machines.”
He listed the company’s people-focused work: the Fabricare Institute, founded in 2017 and accredited by LASTVEB, Nigeria’s first government-approved private fabricare institute.
He said:
“More than 50,000 entrepreneurs, technicians and operators have been trained and impacted, especially through our monthly masterclasses, fully sponsored by LG Electronics.”
He said:
“For almost ten years, we have trained persons with hearing impairment. In 2026, with the support of the MTN Foundation, we trained 30 more. In 2027, we are seeking sponsorship to train at least 360 persons with disabilities. Inclusion is not charity; everyone deserves a chance.”
He also cited the Clothe the Needy project, through which customers donate garments at all CleanAce Drycleaners and Launderers outlets, which has put clean clothes on people in need for about a decade.
As Chairman of the Fabricare Professionals and Drycleaners Association (FPDA), Adebayo said one company cannot change an industry alone.
He said:
“One good company cannot change an industry. As Chairman of the Fabricare Professionals and Drycleaners Association (FPDA), I have given myself to building the structures our industry has always lacked: operators organised state by state, free monthly Fabricare Masterclasses, national occupational standards developed with fellow FPDA members for accreditation by the NBTE, CleanShow Africa, and a survey of 235 operators that now forms part of CINET’s Africa Report.
I sincerely thank LG Electronics and Mr Samuel Odenusi for partnering with us on the CleanAce–LG Fabricare Masterclass series. I thank Mrs Olubunmi Gbadamosi and every FPDA member who gives time to lift others. This award belongs to you.”
Adebayo unveiled Project Light Up Africa as the next phase.
He said:
“In Milan, I made one defence before the jury, and it won us the Entrepreneurship Award. I make it again today: I am not developing a business. I am developing a continental industry. Africa is my market. Our calling is to bring African textile care into the league of world-class professional textile care. We call it Project Light Up Africa.
Others build laundries. We are building an industry. Elsewhere, the market is crowded. In Africa, it is a greenfield, and the first movers will shape it for a generation.
Africa is not a small market waiting for demand; it is a large market waiting for professionals. Just capture Lagos, and you capture Nigeria; Capture Nigeria, and you hold the gateway to Africa.”
Adebayo said the awards open doors for the whole industry.
He said:
“This award is not the finish line. It opens doors for our whole industry.”
He announced a Hub-and-Spoke facility built for 25,000 pieces a day to serve 50 collection-centre operators.
He said:
“A shared back-end for entrepreneurs. Running a full cleaning plant at small scale is too expensive and too often unprofessional. Our Hub-and-Spoke facility, built for 25,000 pieces a day, will serve 50 collection-centre operators, so small businesses can deliver big-business quality.”
He said world-class practice would guide training, with a focus on sustainability, hospitality, medical laundry and infection control.
He said:
“World-class professional textile care principles will guide our training and our industry’s direction, with sustainable practices that protect the environment. Our training will focus on hospitality, medical laundry and infection control, to strengthen hygiene and safety across the healthcare system.”
He announced plans for a Nigeria Best Practices Awards in 2027 through FPDA, and CleanShow Africa 2027 on 25–27 May 2027 at the Landmark Event Centre, Lagos.
He said:
“A Nigeria Best Practices Awards in 2027. Through FPDA, we will propose to CINET that Nigeria host its own Best Practices Awards, giving every operator a goal and drawing sponsors to our industry.
CleanShow Africa 2027. The second edition of CleanShow Africa will hold on 25–27 May 2027 at the Landmark Event Centre, Lagos, the venue of our first edition. European equipment manufacturers are already lining up to exhibit. The show will feature masterclasses and competitions in finishing, pressing and professional stain removal, to inspire a career path for our technicians.”
He called for collaboration with the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to standardise the industry through practical training curricula.
He also called on fashion houses and garment manufacturers to use proper care labels.
He said:
“I call on fashion houses and garment manufacturers to use proper care labels, so that textile care professionals have the right instructions and every garment lasts longer. Every garment made and worn in Nigeria deserves professional care.”
