Tuesday Aug 04, 2026 Introduction For more than half a century, industrial policy has been at the centre of Africa’s ambition to build a competitive manufacturing sector. Across the continent, governments have introduced a wide range of policy interventions designed…
Perhaps the least visible, but important, characteristic of globally competitive textile clusters is their ability to make informed decisions based on timely market intelligence. Competitiveness in manufacturing is enabled by production efficiency as well as real-time economic data on where…
For decades, compliance was often viewed as a final checkpoint before products entered international markets. Today, compliance has become an integral component of how competitive textile clusters are designed and operated. The International Trade Centre’s Standards Map illustrates the remarkable…
While infrastructure, production capacity, and integrated supply chains provide the physical foundations of a textile cluster, people, knowledge, and innovation determine whether that cluster remains competitive over time. Around the world, the most successful textile manufacturing regions have demonstrated that…
One reason globally competitive textile clusters consistently outperform isolated factories is that they reduce production costs through shared infrastructure and common industrial services. Textile manufacturing depends upon extensive infrastructure, including reliable electricity, water supply, wastewater treatment facilities, transport networks, testing…
Possessing abundant raw materials does not automatically create competitive manufacturing industries. Successful textile clusters distinguish themselves through their ability to integrate multiple stages of production into coherent manufacturing systems capable of delivering quality products efficiently and consistently. The United Nations…
Friday Jul 30, 2026 The 10 capabilities that determine the global competitiveness of Africa’s regional cotton, textile, and apparel clusters. Introduction In the first article of this series, Beyond Factories: A New Framework for Measuring Africa’s Textile Competitiveness Under AfCFTA,…
Executive Summary Africa possesses many of the resources needed to become a globally competitive player in the cotton, textile and apparel (CTA) industry. The continent is a major producer of cotton, has a growing consumer market, increasing manufacturing capabilities, and…
Tuesday July 21st, 2026 Introduction The debate surrounding Africa’s industrialization has shifted from whether the continent should add value to its natural resources to how it can build competitive industries capable of generating sustained economic growth. Across sectors, policymakers are…
As discussions around the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) continue to evolve, much of the public narrative remains centered on tariff liberalization and the expansion of intra-African trade. While reducing tariffs undoubtedly represents an important milestone, framing AfCFTA primarily…