Africa: Inside The $5 Billion Plan To Keep Africa's Cotton Jobs In Africa
[Bird Story Agency] Africa grows plenty of cotton. It just does not make much of it into clothes. A new $5 billion plan aims to change that, turning a scattered collection of cotton producers into a regional textile industry.
West Africa’s cotton producers are teaming up to invest $5 billion in a plan to transform the region into a regional textile industry. Currently, cotton grown in the area ends up in Asia, where it is turned into clothing, shirts, towels and other products. The new Partnership for Cotton (PPC) aims to shift more value creation back to Africa by building regional processing capacity and generating industrial jobs.
The initiative, led by the World Trade Organization, could create around 500,000 direct jobs. Experts say automating parts of the cotton value chain could still preserve many jobs while freeing up capital for local factories. Over 10 million livelihoods in the participating countries depend on cotton. The proposal envisions a "Textile Corridor" where cotton is processed in multiple West African countries before being made into finished garments.
This interconnected supply chain would streamline logistics and boost regional trade. International organizations, development banks and private partners will provide financing and technical support to build the necessary infrastructure.
Written by urgent.news from AllAfrica's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
