CAIRO, 20 Oct. - (ANA) - Africa is an important cotton producer, yet much of the continent’s fibre leaves before the higher-value stages of spinning, weaving, textile production and garment manufacturing begin.

 

That gap is at the centre of Cotton to Cloth, which explores how Africa can retain more of the jobs, skills and industrial value generated between the cotton field and the finished product.

 

Afreximbank is backing that transformation through initiatives including the Africa Textile Renaissance Plan, which targets 500,000 metric tonnes of African cotton transformation capacity, supported by US$5 billion in financing, with the potential to create up to 500,000 jobs. 

 

For Dr George Elombi, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank, cotton reflects a much wider African economic opportunity: moving beyond raw commodity exports towards processing, manufacturing and ownership.

 

That opportunity was visible during Dr Elombi’s mission to Benin, where locally grown cotton is being transformed at the Glo-Djigbé Industrial Zone (GDIZ) into yarn, textiles and finished products. Plans to increase processing capacity from 40,000 to 140,000 tonnes, alongside the emergence of the OBALÈ brand, demonstrate how manufacturing can evolve into African-designed and African-owned brands.

 

The same value-retention agenda was reiterated in Dr Elombi’s address at the World Trade Organisation’s 14th Ministerial Conference, where he spoke to the wider opportunity for Africa to move further up the value chain.  -(ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/20 October 2026 - - -