Africa' s Garment Sector

Africa's Garment Sector

In our story about the Garment Sector we established that this sector is a value adding sector to any economy which chooses to develop it.

Africa's tale is like a tale of heaves and woes the land is blessed with different kinds of resources agricultural and mineral resources as well as human resources.

We are a land with a population of about 1.2 billion people who majorly hunt but do not roast. Major exports from Africa are raw or semi-processed agricultural and mineral resources (with little or no value addition)

 43.6% of exports from sub saharan countries are raw materials which represent only 10.3% of global exports. [1]

On the other hand Africa is a huge market for imported goods and foreign exchange is drained on the imports of finished goods whose raw materials came from Africa eg. Crude oil exports for PMS and Diesel imports.

In the garment sector Africa imports about 85% of its new clothes from Asia which include traditional African dresses(Ankara).

This level of importation on a basic need of life like clothing is way too high, considering the fact that we have a massive un/underemployment issue.

To say there is no garment industry in Africa is to tell a lie as they have been massive development in the sector over the last few years in some major African countries like Kenya, Ghana, South Africa  and even Nigeria. Massive factories have been built across textiles and garment and are functioning effectively.

We even have exports Now of textile and garments as major exports in some African countries, some linked to the AGOA initiative.

However the percentages compared to imports are still far apart.

Countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam have leveraged on the garment industry to improve the GDP of their nations and reduce poverty.

Africa is in dire need of such success  It is a fact that when industrialisation set in anywhere historically it normally started with textile and garment production.

To build the garment sector in Africa  we need to start from the bottom up.

Farm's ... Textiles ... Apparel  etc.

What do we then do?

1. Adopt policies that encourage growth

2. Build the needed infrastructure /intrastructure.

3. Pass regulations that discourage  importation and will boost local production

4. Adopt fiscal systems that would serve as incentives.

African Economies must tap into every step along the textile value Chan ( farming, spinning, weaving, dying, textiles, garments and much more)  utilizing her enormous human and natural resources to her advantage.

I believe that with an inclusive and decisive action from local governments to states to the Federal level an investment in the garment sector with industrialization as its goal can single-handedly change the economy of our dear Nation Nigeria and any other African country who would like to rapidly improve its economy.

How can we do this? I would expound my thoughts in my next writing.

References

1 World Bank