Textile, Apparel and Leather Investment Forum gets underway in Kigali

Stakeholders in the textile, apparel and leather sector from across Africa have convened in Kigali seeking to boost their markets and business to business partnerships. At the Textile, Apparel and Leather Investment Forum (TALIF), the first of its kind sector-specific investment forum taking place in Rwanda from Wednesday, November 9-11, investors and businesspeople are discussing bottlenecks in the value chain, seeking to leverage the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The TALIF is an annual conference that brings together local and international manufacturers and wholesalers as well as policymakers. It is organised by ACHIEVAZ Ltd, a local consulting firm that focuses on private sector development and organises corporate events. This year’s conference is convening under the theme “Bridging Textile and Leather Investment Gaps in Africa.” “Forums like TALIF provide an opportunity for foreign investors to get to know how the Rwandan sector is performing while establishing connections with the local players,” said Germaine Mukashyaka, the chairperson of Rwanda Leather Value Chain Union. “Rwandan businesses also learn the best practices from those from foreign countries. Currently, Rwandan textile and leather businesses import most of the fabrics they use, which increases the cost, hence affects their pricing. For the Rwandan leather sector to develop, Mukashyaka said, the construction of Bugesera leather park should be completed in order to accommodate factories, tanneries, which will increase employment and decrease the cost of production. The Investment also includes a series of business-to-business (B2B) sessions, three-day exhibition and panel discussions slated for Friday, that will table several issues affecting the sectors. This edition is dominated by Ethiopian leather producers who are looking forward to investing in Rwanda taking good advantage of the absence of tanneries. For the African textile and leather sector to develop, experts say the current challenges need to be fixed. “The main challenges are structural, skills gap, and market linkage. We have to come together as a continent and explore the AfCFTA. We need to explore these opportunities in the leather sector to boost intra-Africa relationships,” said Solomon Getu, the secretary general of Ethiopia Leather Industry Association. Getu said that Ethiopian investors were considering investing in Rwanda’s leather industry, eying a conducive business environment. “Ethiopians are here to see the investment opportunities. We now have a potential to invest in Rwanda because there are materials, that is the livestock population.” To boost market linkages, Getu said the manufacturers and players in the hides and skins processing industry need to network and promote each other through business-to-business engagement, with the support of government policies. The TALIF is expected to result in collaborations, synergies and boosted information sharing. “As investors in the leather and textile industry, meeting with peers from other countries enables us to learn from them and see what is needed to improve our production,” Juvenal Gatorano, a Rwandan shoemaker, said. “We need to utilize the African continental market in order to increase our production and create more jobs.” The TALIF is a platform endorsed by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MINICOM), organized in partnership with the Rwanda Convention Bureau (RCB). Next year’s forum will take place in September.

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Textile, Apparel and Leather Investment Forum gets underway in Kigali