Africa’s textile sector stands to add around $34 billion to annual economic output and generate close to two million lasting factory jobs, provided the continent builds the in-country capability to convert its cotton into finished clothing, according to the Africa Made It initiative.
The pan-African advocacy body set out the case in Lagos, Nigeria where it unveiled “Power, Protect, Purchase”, a campaign aimed at driving industrial growth by strengthening the continent’s fibre-to-fashion chain.
The organisation noted that as much as 98% of Africa’s raw cotton leaves the continent unprocessed. As a result, producers capture just two per cent of the commodity’s value, and the region carries a trade shortfall estimated at $35 billion each year.
Scaling up local spinning, weaving and garment-making, it argued, could deliver roughly $33 billion in extra household earnings annually and deepen manufacturing employment across African markets.
The campaign rests on three pillars: securing dependable, competitively priced power for industrial mills; shielding fledgling local producers from unfair competition from overseas; and persuading shoppers to favour locally made goods.
Africa Made It said this strategy would allow national economies to keep a larger share of the worth of their natural resources, rather than shipping out raw materials and bringing in finished goods.
The initiative also pointed to a $1.8 billion funding requirement for essential structural infrastructure. This investment, it said, is needed to modernise the continent’s fibre-to-fashion sector and close what it called the “missing middle” of the value chain.
Africa Made It, a coalition of prominent pan-African institutions, advocacy bodies and media houses, is working to establish the continent as a premier destination for global capital.
It strives to highlight the cotton-to-clothing value chain and set out a practical blueprint for Africa’s industrial transformation.
