The development of African textile and garment industry needs to climb three mountains

As a “hot land” in the eyes of European and American clothing buyers, Africa has advantages in labor costs and raw materials. However, problems such as imperfect industrial chains, lack of professional talents and low added value of products are like three mountains hindering the development of the textile and garment industry in the region. To become the next value sink in the global textile industry, African industry players still need to find the most efficient path to climb over the mountain.
​The industrial chain is imperfect
Leverage regional strength
Nowadays, more and more European and American brands are transferring production orders to African countries such as Ethiopia and Kenya, which makes the prospects of the textile and apparel industry in the region promising. Some experts pointed out that although Africa has the potential to become a new global clothing procurement center. However, African industry players still need to learn from the development history of Southeast Asian companies. “African countries should pay attention to the coordinated development of the textile and apparel industries in Asian countries, as well as the regional integration power.” said Patrick Conway, chairman of the economics department at the University of North Carolina in the United States. “For example, sub-Saharan countries can use their respective Industrial advantages, improve supply chain links in the region.” Conway pointed out that African garment processing companies should strengthen cooperation among multinational companies and improve their ability to undertake cross-border orders.
In Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, the East African Trade and Investment Center with a US$65 million investment from the United States is under construction. The center is an example of cross-border cooperation to strengthen ties between the United States and the East African Community, which includes Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. The center was launched in November 2014. The U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Robert noted that in addition to strengthening ties among the above-mentioned East African Community countries, the center will also help develop urban projects in Ethiopia. These include South Sudan and Djibouti. The U.S. government believes that the region’s economy has growth potential due to a growing educated middle class.
In fact, many African countries have shown their respective advantages in developing the textile industry: the textile industry is a traditional field in Egypt, and its textile market size ranks among the largest in Africa; in Lesotho, the textile industry has become the largest employment pillar, with the country’s labor force Mature; policies in Namibia’s export processing zones are particularly favorable; Mozambique’s textile industry produces high-quality cotton and has low labor costs. If textile companies in these African countries can give full play to their respective advantages and strengthen cooperation, such as sharing high-quality cotton and strengthening exchanges between mature skilled workers, they may be able to capture more opportunities for the development of the African textile industry.
​Lack of professional talents
“Cooperative education” is a good way to learn from experience
Among the African countries that are the most promising among international buyers, Kenya’s performance is particularly eye-catching. There are more than 50 export processing zones in the country. In these processing zones, the garment manufacturing industry is dominated by investors from different countries, mainly China, India, Malaysia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Judging from statistical data, thanks to the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), Kenya’s apparel exports have increased significantly in recent years. In 2013, Kenya’s total garment exports increased by 7.5%. In this year, the number of direct employment provided by the industry increased from 28,300 in 2012 to 33,000.
However, the growth of the employment population has not led to the growth of professional talents. Industry insiders who have visited Africa for inspection pointed out that in addition to the problem of imperfect industrial chains when investing in and building factories in African countries, the lack of professional talents also plagues companies. “If both technical and managerial talents need to be imported from abroad, it will be a considerable cost investment for the enterprise. According to the principle of localized management, the most ideal way is to hire local professional talents.”
British research institutions pointed out that Kenya is expected to become a middle-income country by 2030, thanks to improvements in manufacturing services and vast resources of agricultural products. The premise is that the government continues to create favorable conditions to attract investors, and talent cultivation is a top priority.
On March 30 this year, the Confucius Institute at Moi University, co-organized by the Confucius Institute Headquarters and Moi University in Kenya, was officially opened and taught in Eldoret, Kenya. The Chinese partner institution of the Confucius Institute is Donghua University in China. This is the world’s first Confucius Institute featuring textile industry technology and clothing design. The Confucius Institute at Moi University stated that while spreading Chinese language and culture, they will promote Chinese traditional clothing culture, promote Chinese textile engineering technology and clothing design art, so as to promote the development of Kenya’s local textile industry.
It is foreseeable that based on the cooperation between the two universities and with the joint efforts of the Chinese and Kenyan governments and textile enterprises, the establishment of the Confucius Institute at Moi University will bring more cooperation opportunities to the textile manufacturing fields of China and Kenya and create a closer bilateral relations.
​The product has low added value
Start with textile raw materials
The future of the African textile and apparel industry is worth looking forward to, and if we want to explore a long-term industrial development path, the top priority is to improve product quality, especially cotton. According to the latest statistics from Cotlook, in 2013/2014, the cotton prices of 13 major cotton-producing countries in AfricaThe production volume was 1.192 million tons, accounting for nearly 5% of the world’s total output, of which more than 70% was exported.
Adeyemi, Executive Secretary-General of the African Cotton Association, said that the differences in African cotton in various regions are very small, and the quality of the fiber is also relatively good. “Generally speaking, the industry’s biggest complaint about African cotton may be the problem of high impurity content. Currently, the African Cotton Association is improving the quality of African cotton through daily work. For example, in order to ensure the quality of African cotton, the African Cotton Association A grading technical committee has been established. This committee has gathered experts on grading from various cotton enterprises. We have also established an African cotton standard and will update the standard regularly. At the same time, we will also conduct very strict grading of cotton seeds, including the first Category 1, Category 2, Category 3. There are also very strict gradings for fiber. In addition, we have also developed a procedure manual to implement the African Cotton Quality Charter. These initiatives are all to solve the problem of impurities in cotton.”
Bedi, chairman of the African Cotton and Textile Industry Federation, said: “We need to increase the value of exported raw cotton, so that we can potentially create more job opportunities.” Bedi pointed out that old technology and equipment have made business operating costs higher, Industrial shortcomings in this area offset the industrial advantages brought by lower labor costs. Therefore, a modern industrial development model is crucial to the African textile industry.
British textile industry consultant Peter believes that improving product value from the source will be the main factor promoting the development of the African textile industry. In addition, production skills in business and manufacturing will also affect the competitiveness of the industry. “Although the textile and apparel industry needs to rely on processing business to achieve export growth, on this basis, African manufacturers urgently need to establish modern technology and establish timely and reliable business reputation. At this stage, Africa may still be standardizing products, such as underwear, T-shirts and other products.”
In any case, out of consideration for the development prospects of African industries, many brands have settled in Africa and increased investment in countries such as Kenya, Ethiopia, and Uganda. They believe that the return on investment in Africa is just around the corner and should not be limited to just setting up procurement offices.