Minister seeks continental action to boost African textile production

The Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, has called for coordinated continental action to strengthen Africa’s textile production capacity, establish common industry standards and ensure that more economic value from the fashion industry is retained within the continent.

Musawa said African countries needed to move beyond celebrating the continent’s fashion creativity and build the industrial structures, manufacturing capacity and policy frameworks required to make the sector a major source of employment, investment and economic growth.

According to a statement issued on Friday by her Senior Special Adviser on Media, Nneka Anibeze, the minister made the call on Thursday in Lagos during the first anniversary of the African Fashion Industry Growth Charter, organised by the Confederation of African Fashion at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts.

She said although African fashion had preserved the continent’s identity and cultural heritage for generations, the industry lacked the institutional structure required to compete effectively in the global market.

“For centuries, African fashion has told our stories, carried our identity and kept our heritage alive across generations. What it never had was structure,” Musawa said.

“Our designers dress the world while working without common standards and without a framework that treats their craft as industry.

“When the Confederation of African Fashion brought us the Charter, we read it as an economic instrument, and we signed. A signature only matters if something follows it,” she added.

Nigeria became the first country to sign the Charter on November 5, 2025, through the Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, according to the statement.

Musawa, who cut the ribbon to commemorate the anniversary, said she looked forward to the employment opportunities the initiative would create and commended President Bola Tinubu for supporting the development of the creative economy.

The Charter is designed to provide a policy framework for developing Africa’s fashion and textile industry through improved production standards, investment, certification and protection of intellectual property.

The CAFA President, Aare Prof. Lai Labode, said the continent’s fashion industry was estimated to be worth $60bn, despite having the potential to generate about $500bn, according to the organisation’s estimates.

He attributed the gap to inadequate manufacturing infrastructure, limited access to financing, a lack of recognised professional certification and the continent’s dependence on imported finished textile products.

Labode said, “Africa has 1.7 billion people, yet its fashion economy is about US$60 billion against a potential of US$500 billion, by CAFA’s estimates.

“Thirty-seven of Africa’s 54 countries grow cotton, yet the continent exports only US$15.5 billion a year in textiles and imports US$23.1 billion in textiles, clothing and footwear.

“Those exports equal about one per cent of a global apparel market worth roughly US$1.9 trillion in 2026. Designers still lack recognised certification, production-scale factories and dedicated finance. The continent sells raw and buys finished.”

He added, “The world has never doubted Africa’s talent. It has simply never had to pay Africa for it. The Charter exists to change who gets paid.”

Labode disclosed that Rwanda was making progress towards becoming the second country to formalise its participation in the Charter and the first in East Africa, while discussions were ongoing with Liberia and Ghana.

He said CAFA was also working with Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs to advance the Charter towards adoption by the African Union as a continental framework.

On efforts to strengthen local manufacturing, Labode said the organisation was pursuing partnerships with Austria and Turkey to establish a central textile factory to serve African countries.

According to him, the proposed facility would provide international-standard production, global distribution, training and intellectual property protection for African designers.

He added that some of the world’s largest textile companies had expressed interest in the initiative, while African Global Fashion Houses were also being developed to provide designers with permanent platforms to showcase and sell their products.

CAFA also disclosed plans to work with the African Union Commission, the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, the African Export-Import Bank and regional economic communities to expand the Charter’s reach.

The organisation said its engagement with the AfCFTA Secretariat would focus on aligning certification and production standards with continental trade rules to facilitate the movement of African-made textiles and garments across national borders.

It also plans to engage Afreximbank and its Creative Africa Nexus programme on financing for the proposed textile factory, export opportunities for designers and the African Global Fashion Games.

The organisation announced that Nigeria would host the African Global Fashion Games in 2028. The competition will feature seven disciplines covering design, craftsmanship, textile performance and innovation.

The Games, which will be held every three years and alternate between Africa and other parts of the world, are expected to bring together designers, investors, manufacturers and governments, with each participating country contributing a thread to a common World Cloth.

The renewed push for continental action comes amid broader efforts to strengthen Africa’s creative economy and address structural challenges limiting the commercialisation of the continent’s cultural and creative products.

The African Union, in its programme for CANEX WKND 2026, identified limited access to finance, weak intellectual property protection, fragmented markets, infrastructure deficits and skills gaps as major constraints facing creative industries across the continent.

It said the creative and cultural industries, including fashion, music, film, literature and design, offered opportunities for economic growth and employment, particularly through small and medium-sized enterprises.

There have also been efforts to develop an integrated African cotton, textile and apparel value chain under the AfCFTA.

A policy brief published in September 2026 by the AfRI Practice Hub disclosed that the AfCFTA Trade and Industrial Development Advisory Council launched a vision in May 2026 for a competitive, integrated regional cotton, textiles and apparel industry.

The initiative followed consultations involving cotton growers, manufacturers, industry associations, retailers and trade unions, with a focus on addressing limited processing capacity, inadequate yarn and fabric production, financing constraints and barriers to cross-border trade.

The AfCFTA is designed to create a single continental market for goods and services, promote industrial development and strengthen regional value chains through increased intra-African trade.

Similarly, Afreximbank has called for coordinated efforts to transform Africa’s cotton sector from a raw commodity export base into a competitive textile and garment manufacturing industry.

The 2026 edition of CANEX WKND, organised by Afreximbank in partnership with the African Union Commission and the AfCFTA Secretariat, is holding from November 5 to 8 at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts in Lagos.

The event is bringing together policymakers, investors, creatives and industry leaders to explore financing, trade and investment opportunities across Africa’s creative industries.