Cotton plan could create half a million textile jobs in Africa
08/11/2024
Their plan is to establish 500,000 tonnes of cotton processing capacity in Africa over the next three-to-five years, with the potential to add a further 500,000 tonnes’ capacity further down the road. It will have $5 billion in financing.
The partners have also said they aim to create up to 500,000 jobs, reduce Africa’s textile imports, and boost the continent’s textile exports, including to the US under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
They pointed out that the initiative will also add more value on home soil to Africa’s cotton crop by transforming Africa’s cotton into high-value textile products.
Selection of the countries that will benefit from the programme will be based on power and gas availability, and good enough infrastructure to support textile parks. Training centres will be established in the selected countries to develop and improve skill levels.
To foster long-term growth, Rieter has committed to establishing a manufacturing presence in Africa, subject to commercial viability. This will include a repair and maintenance facility in Arise’s existing industrial park in Benin. It will also include establishing spare-parts warehousing and the phased introduction of machine assembly operations.
Founder and chief executive of Arise, Gagan Gupta, said the initiative had the potential to make Africa a global leader in sustainable textile production.
Rieter’s chief executive, Thomas Oetterli, said: “We are convinced that the Africa Textile Renaissance Plan marks an important starting point for the future development of the textile industry in Africa.”
Image credit: Martin Kielmann/Cotton Made In Africa.
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