In promoting industrialization and job creation under the 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Program, the Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry (MoTAI) has organized a Roadshow to attract investors for the textile and garment sector.
Ghana’s Inbound Textiles and Apparel Roadshow, a three-day event organized by the Ministry in Accra, takes place from November 10-12. The Roadshow aims to bring together key industry stakeholders and investors to promote the output of the sector and expose the sector to the wider market.
The platform is set to bring demand and supply together, while adding investors in the midst to facilitate the two markets.
Through the Roadshow, the Ministry is collaborating with GIZ, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), Ghana Free Zones Authority (GFZA), Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), Jobs for Economic Transformation (JET), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The Ministry is building this Roadshow on the successful engagements with international investors at the Munich Fabric Start and the Textiles and Garments Roadshow in Germany, organized by GIZ earlier this year. The purpose of this Roadshow is to reveal Ghana’s leadership in textile production in West Africa.
Activities so Far Under the Roadshow
The program is to host investors, buyers, and industry players at arranged garment factories and industrial parks to spark possible growth, investment, and expansion possibilities. Such venues include Tema and the Bright Industrial Zone.
At the gathering, there will be policy presentations by the government, matchmaking sessions with local manufacturers, and a networking cocktail with industry stakeholders and diplomats.
On the first day, some investors engaged with officials from the Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry in Accra to reveal their interest in investing in Ghana’s textile and garment sector.
Mr. Kwasi Antwi, the Head of Strategic Anchor Directorate, presented a draft policy framework for the development of the textile and garment industry. He mentioned certain government interventions to promote activities in the sector, including productivity and value addition.
Nana Poquah Adiamah, the National Coordinator of the Association of Ghana Apparel Manufacturers (AGAM), also presented a report on the landscape of the textiles and garment sector in Ghana.
According to Madam Adiamah, AGAM is ready to link up with investors, both local and foreign. She added that compliance, capacity building, and administrative support for members are the focus of the Association. Through the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and existing trade policies, AGAM seeks to “expand market access and drive growth in the sector.”
According to the Ministry, they are confident that “the Inbound Roadshow and the ongoing engagements with investors will strengthen Ghana’s position as a competitive hub for apparel manufacturing in Africa, creating decent jobs and boosting non-traditional exports.”
Reviving the Textile Industry
The Roadshow is again a buildup on a campaign that the Ministry started in August. With the struggling industry in sight, the Ministry sought to revitalize the challenged sector with a proposed new policy that aims to transform the sector by 2033.
The draft policy, at its inception, was to “attract US$ 1.2 billion in new investments, create about 150,000 new jobs, and revitalize cotton farming across 50,000 hectares of land—an effort to counter the increasing influx of cheap textile imports that have eroded local manufacturing.”
According to the Deputy Trade Minister, Samson Ahi, the efforts of the Ministry “isn’t just [about]reviewing documents; it’s about creating a shared roadmap for the future of the sector.” He added that the revival mission of the Ministry is to “position Ghana as a competitive force in global textile markets while addressing high youth unemployment, which hovers near 15%.”
These many interventions by the Ministry in collaboration with the Labour Ministry aim to fulfill the government’s reset agenda in the sector. With the decades of mounted challenges, MoTAI has strategized to raise enough investment to revive the textile and garment sector to support the industries to be competitive.
The Roadshow is a long-term investment project to boost and support all the actors in the value chain. The success of the Ministry initiative will be to mitigate the growing threat posed by foreign textile and garment firms, which have flooded the market with low-cost products.
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