Botswana: New textile and clothing association formed
Textile and clothing businesses from diamond-rich southern Africa country Botswana have formed a new industry group to boost the sector's efforts to fully utilise dutyfree
incentives under the US's African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
The new Botswana Textile and Clothing Association (BTCA) anticipates AGOA will be renewed by the US congress before it expires in 2015.
BTCA founding president Shahid Ghafoor said the association, which was officially launched last month, is ready to help members with solutions to day-to-day challenges.
Ghafoor said the BTCA - based in the capital Gaborone - wants to promote growth and sustainability within the sector, while increasing Botswana's regional and
international textile and clothing market share.
"BTCA will promote entrepreneurship in the industry as well as assist clothing businesses access finance [from] financial institutions" and other sources, said Ghafoor,
speaking in Gaborone, stressing that the association will also work to enhance the capacity of the Botswana industry.
Ghafoor said Botswana's clothing and textile sector has failed to take full advantage of AGOA, struggling to make export sales to the competitive and demanding US
market.
A report by the Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis (BIDPA) has noted that while the country's textile and garment industry has previously benefitted from
trade preferences (also including the European Union), it has performed weakly during and after the global recession.
Read related news articles
AGOA boosts Kenya's textile exports to US, sector sees 7.2% growth
The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) has benefitted Kenya’s textile and apparel sector, leading to monthly exports to the tune of Sh4.5 billion, or Sh150 million per day, last year, according to a study by London-based Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA). The programme has had a positive impact on the country’s export-processing zones (EPZs), especially in the textile and garment sector. Kenya is the second-largest exporter of...
08 August 2023
US fashion brands urge early renewal of AGOA
US fashion companies are calling for the early renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a trade program that allows thousands of African products to enter the United States duty-free. They argue that a longer-term arrangement would not only benefit African economies but also boost investment in the region. The AGOA was first enacted in 2000 and is currently set to expire in 2025. However, US officials have indicated that the...
31 July 2023
US boosts Kenya apparel industry with $55m in new trade deals
The US is giving Kenya $55 million for expansion of export processing zones in a move that will boost Nairobi’s apparel exports. US initiative Prosper Africa and the US Embassy announced the funding at the launch of the US-Kenya Business Roadshow held on April 25 in New York. The announcement was part of the commitments made by President Joe Biden at the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit last year. The funds will be channelled under USAid and...
29 April 2023
Nigeria: Garment factory to create 2,000 direct jobs, utilize AGOA
Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, at the weekend, said the state’s garment factory will be inaugurated this year with a take off capacity to hire 2,000 direct labour. Speaking with dozens of APC youths, progressive social media influencers, and some online news publishers on Saturday, the governor said the idea is to make Kwara a hub for garment production, which can then benefit from the African Growth and Opportunity Act...
26 August 2022
AAFA: Africa ‘logical’ choice for brands fleeing China
The American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) urged the office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to renew the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), as U.S. brands and retailers look to diversify sourcing. While the trade agreement’s expiration is still three years away, the Washington, D.C.-based trade group believes that establishing long-term, forward-looking policy will help brands commit to new sourcing...
29 June 2022
Kenyan textile company eyes export market through new Zanzibar facility
A Kenyan company is setting up a $51.3 million (about Sh115 billion) factory in Zanzibar as it targets to get a pie of the world’s $920 billion textile market. The global textile industry was estimated at around $920 billion in 2018, and it was projected to reach approximately $1,230 billion by 2024, available global data show. With its $51.3 million factory at Chunguni area in Zanzibar, Basra Textiles Limited is specifically targeting...
12 January 2022
Ethiopia’s economy hit as major clothing maker closes shop
Ethiopia’s once rapidly growing economy is taking another hit tied to its yearlong war, with global clothing manufacturer PVH Corp. saying it is closing its facility there because of the “speed and volatility of the escalating situation.” PVH, whose brands include Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, has been a marquee occupant of Ethiopia’s model industrial park in the city of Hawassa, where Africa’s second-most populous country has...
19 November 2021
Togo's textile focused SEZ aims to create value-added textile supply chain
Togo’s ‘PIA’, a textile focussed SEZ, aims to create an eco-system for textile value chains and offer multiple incentives to foreign investors investing in the Textile Park. A West African nation ‘Togo’ recently established the Adétikopé Industrial Platform (PIA), a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) conceptualised by ARISE IIP, to unlock the growth potential and promote the industrialisation of Togo. Located along the strategic...
05 October 2021
Botswana: Government acts as AGOA exports hit zero
Government is hoping its newly revitalised strategy for the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) reaps dividends after revelations that exports by local companies under the trade deal have been at zero since 2019 end. AGOA is a trade arrangement between the US and sub-Saharan African countries, including Botswana, which runs till 2025 and provides relaxed access to the American market. From a peak of P1.8 billion in AGOA exports by...
04 June 2021
US and Botswana MITI launch revised AGOA Utilization Strategy to improve economic growth in Botswana
On April 29, the Embassy of the United States of America joined the Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry (MITI) and other stakeholders to launch the revised strategy (see link to download) at the Hilton Garden Inn in Gaborone. U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Botswana, Craig L. Cloud, joined Minister Mmusi Kgafela to formally launch the strategy. Also present were the USAID Representative to Botswana, Ms....
03 May 2021
'Changing jeans sourcing scene has these countries coming up roses'
The sourcing landscape for denim jeans is slowly but certainly shifting, while overall U.S. blue denim apparel imports continue to decline. Imports of jeans fell 7.43 percent in the first two months of the year compared to the same period in 2020 to a value of $460.25 million, expanding on a 5.36 percent year-over-year falloff in January, according to the Commerce Department’s Office of Textiles & Apparel (OTEXA). Coming off...
09 April 2021