Africa holds immense potential to emerge as a major player in the global textile and apparel supply chain, but unlocking this opportunity will require strategic investments, technological adoption and visionary leadership. A tall order for a highly competitive industry.
Eme Bassey, CCO, ONCHEK and Special Adviser on Cotton, Textile & Garment (CTG) to the Honourable Minister of State for Industry, Nigeria, is at the forefront of this effort, working to empower African fashion suppliers to compete globally. Here, Bassey shares her insights on the role of technology, government policy and market diversification in shaping Africa’s destiny in the apparel industry. From solving the persistent challenges to building more sustainable, competitive supply chains, she lays out a roadmap for transforming the continent’s textile and apparel sector into a global powerhouse.
HGI: Apparel production remains an extremely manual process, but how can technology help African countries level up their competitiveness in the global market?
Eme Bassey: Technology is one of the biggest levers we should pull to improve global competitiveness — on price, volume and quality. In Nigeria, even basic steps like adopting digital tools and automated cutting can make a huge difference, such as reducing fabric waste by 10 to 15 percent. These are real savings that directly improve competitiveness.
When it comes to the creative and product development side of apparel, West Africa shines and Nigeria leads the way. The talent and originality are undeniable. But much of the product development and sourcing work is still done manually, which limits both quality and scale. Technology can change that. With 3D design tools, digital sampling and sourcing platforms, we can move faster, reduce errors and produce at a standard that global buyers recognize and trust.
Another big opportunity is traceability. Buyers now want to know exactly where raw materials come from and this is where Nigeria (and West Africa) can stand out. Our supply chains have the potential to be largely local and regional. Cotton grown can be ginned, spun and sewn into garments all within one country. Compare that to Asia, where fiber might come from one country, fabric from another and finishing somewhere else entirely. Because our chains can be shorter and closer to home, it becomes easier to track and prove origin. With QR codes or digital platforms, Nigeria (and West Africa) can turn traceability into a real competitive edge, not just a compliance requirement.
HGI: How is the government in Nigeria working to support the textile and apparel industries based there? And where should they focus their efforts?
E.B.: The current administration is prioritizing Nigeria’s textile and apparel sector. A full review of the 2015 National Cotton, Textile, and Apparel Policy is underway, and the goal is to replace it with a more robust, forward-looking growth plan that addresses today’s realities and attracts investment.
The focus areas are: infrastructure development, access to affordable finance, skills training, fiscal incentives and market measures like public procurement. To deliver on these, Nigeria is prioritizing industrial parks, garment clusters, special economic zones and aggregation hubs as the anchors for growth.
It’s important to remember that Nigeria once had one of the largest textile industries in sub-Saharan Africa. In the 1980s, over 180 mills were active, employing more than 450,000 people directly and another 1.5 million indirectly. So we can lead again. The task now is to rebuild with the right policies and consistent execution.
“While Africa cannot yet match Southeast Asia in scale or specialization, it can offer buyers a strategic diversification play with lower tariffs, quicker shipping time and an opportunity to co-shape supply chains in a way that aligns with sustainability and bottom-line priorities.” —Eme Bassey
HGI: The U.S. trade war has apparel brands doing business in the U.S. looking for alternative sourcing destinations, which could be good for some African countries. What do brands that haven’t worked in Africa need to understand about how it’s different from working in Southeast Asia?
E.B.: The biggest difference is the maturity of the ecosystems. Southeast Asia has spent decades building integrated supply chains. In Africa, many countries are still in the process of rebuilding or establishing these linkages. It means buyers need to engage more collaboratively and sometimes more patiently.
But the gaps also present opportunities. Nigeria, for instance, has a domestic consumer market of over 200 million people, meaning factories can balance export with local demand. We also have geographic proximity to Europe and the U.S. East Coast that can be leveraged once logistics are more streamlined. Add to that preferential trade access and low labor costs, and Nigeria offers a cost advantage that Asian suppliers under higher tariff regimes do not.
So, while Africa cannot yet match Southeast Asia in scale or specialization, it can offer buyers a strategic diversification play with lower tariffs, quicker shipping time and an opportunity to co-shape supply chains in a way that aligns with sustainability and bottom-line priorities.
HGI: There have been stops and starts for brands sourcing from Africa. What have been the major hurdles and challenges that have led to set backs, and to what degree have they been resolved?
E.B.: To be honest, Nigeria hasn’t really played much in global brand sourcing yet, so the story of “stops and starts” doesn’t fully apply to us. Unlike Kenya, Lesotho or even Ethiopia, which had clearer export pipelines into U.S. and EU brands, Nigeria’s textile and apparel sector has mostly been focused on serving the huge domestic and regional market. So we haven’t seen the same cycle of big orders coming in and then being pulled out.
Our challenge — and our opportunity — is to actually break into brand sourcing in a sustained way. That’s why the current policy push is so important: creating industrial clusters, reviving latent textile capacity and embedding compliance systems so Nigeria can finally compete for and retain those large export orders.
HGI: The U.S. has yet to address AGOA, which is set to expire in a few weeks. What has AGOA meant to the apparel industry in member countries? And what will be the impact if it is allowed to expire?
E.B.: Nigeria has underutilized AGOA compared to countries like Kenya, where apparel exports to the U.S. reached over $510 million in 2023, or Lesotho, which ships around $150 to $300 million annually. For those countries, AGOA has been absolutely pivotal. Duty-free access has allowed their factories to compete despite smaller scale. Apparel is one of the few industries where AGOA has delivered measurable results: tens of thousands of jobs, billions in export earnings, and the emergence of entire clusters of suppliers.
If AGOA expires, the obvious risk is that Africa loses one of its clearest incentives for U.S. buyers. But under the new U.S. tariff regime, Asian exporters are actually facing higher tariffs than Africa would.
So expiry/non-renewal doesn’t automatically make Africa uncompetitive, but it may slow momentum and discourage investment. Renewal, on the other hand, could transform Africa’s position, making us one of the most cost-effective alternatives for U.S. buyers at a time when their sourcing bases are under real pressure.
HGI: Beyond the U.S., what are the main markets for African countries? And how has the uncertainty caused by the U.S. trade war had a knock on effect with those operations?
E.B.: The European Union is Africa’s other major apparel market, supported by Everything But Arms (EBA) and Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). For Nigeria, the main external markets beyond the U.S. are the EU and the African continent itself.
The EU is already Nigeria’s largest trading partner overall, and apparel could benefit from EU’s preferential access frameworks. Meanwhile, AfCFTA [the African Continental Free Trade Agreement] opens a $3.4 trillion African market where demand for uniforms, basics and fast fashion is growing.
The U.S. trade war created uncertainty that forced buyers and investors to diversify. But while many shifted orders and investments to hedge risk, they didn’t flock to Africa — and certainly not to Nigeria — largely because of concerns over reliability and readiness.
The lesson here is that global disruptions don’t automatically translate into wins for us. Unless Nigeria builds consistent, competitive supply chains, we risk being bystanders while others capture the opportunities.
HGI: Today, sourcing executives are looking for vertical operations in the regions they’re working in. Are there African nations that can compete from that perspective?
E.B.: Egypt, with its cotton-to-garment industry, remains one of the strongest vertical players on the Continent. Nigeria used to be a textbook case of verticality: cotton grown in the north was spun and woven in Kaduna, then sold as fabric or garments across the country and region. That system collapsed, but the infrastructure skeleton remains. Today, the government is putting policies and incentives in place for brownfield redevelopment of those old mills, which could once again make Nigeria a vertically integrated hub.
If done right, Nigeria has the scale, the raw material base and the market size to compete with Egypt and Ethiopia in offering vertical operations.
HGI: What’s your outlook for Africa in the global textile and apparel market? What will it take to boost the competitiveness of countries there?
E.B.: My outlook is cautiously optimistic. Africa will not replace Asia in the short term — the scale difference is still too wide. But Africa can and should become the “third sourcing frontier” alongside Asia and the Americas. The continent’s young workforce, proximity to Europe and trade preferences are advantages no other region can replicate at this scale.
To boost competitiveness, four things must align: infrastructure, supportive policies and incentives, access to affordable financing, and skills development. If countries can move in a coordinated way on these fronts, the next decade could see apparel exports double or triple, while creating millions of jobs at home. The opportunity is there but it requires consistency, political will and long-term vision.
For Nigeria, the stakes are especially high. We currently import around $6 billion worth of textiles every year. With the right execution, we can shift from being a net importer to a competitive exporter, rebuilding the industry to create jobs at scale and reclaim our position as a textile and apparel powerhouse in Africa.
