More than five years after trading began under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Africa’s textile industry is emerging as a major test of whether the continent can turn a single-market vision into integrated manufacturing, investment and jobs.
The trade agreement offers African cotton, textile and clothing businesses access to a larger market and preferential trade terms. Its bigger promise, however, is the creation of cross-border textile value chains that connect cotton farmers, ginners, spinners, weavers, manufacturers, brands and retailers across different African countries.
Under such a model, cotton grown and ginned in Benin could be spun into yarn in Côte d’Ivoire, woven into fabric in Ghana and turned into clothing for consumers across West Africa.
No country would need to control every stage of production.
Instead, countries and businesses could specialise in different parts of the textile value chain and trade intermediate products across borders, allowing Africa to retain more of the value created between the farm and the finished garment.
That is the opportunity.
The more difficult question is whether AfCFTA can make these regional supply chains cheaper, faster and more reliable than importing textile inputs from Asia.
Africa’s textile industry begins to shift
Arisekola Muritala of the International Trade Centre said there are early indications that Africa’s cotton-to-textile value chain is moving away from a model dominated by raw cotton exports and isolated national factories.
“There are clear signs that Africa’s cotton-to-textile value chain is beginning to shift from a fragmented, export-oriented model towards greater regional processing, but I would describe the transformation as emerging,” he said.
The AfCFTA was signed in 2018, entered into force in 2019 and trading under its rules formally began in January 2021.
The agreement aims to reduce tariffs and other barriers to trade among African countries. Of the African Union’s 55 member states, 54 had signed the agreement and 49 had ratified it by February 2025.
But AfCFTA has not created a completely borderless African market.
Countries must publish and implement tariff schedules, align customs procedures and apply agreed rules of origin before businesses can claim preferential treatment.
A product does not automatically qualify for lower tariffs simply because it moves from one African country to another.
Rules of origin are critical for textiles
Rules of origin are particularly important for the textile and clothing industry.
They determine how much production must take place within participating African countries for yarn, fabric or garments to qualify as African-made and receive preferential treatment.
If the rules are too loose, imported fabric could undergo only minimal processing in Africa and still qualify for preferential access.
If they are too restrictive, clothing manufacturers that still depend on imported yarn or fabric could find themselves unable to benefit from AfCFTA preferences.
The rules therefore need to recognise the reality of regional production.
Cotton, yarn, fabric and finished garments could cross several borders before reaching consumers.
Sand Mba-Kalu, convener of the Africa Cotton, Textile and Apparel Centre, said specialisation should be at the heart of Africa’s industrialisation strategy.
“Africa should not confuse regional industrialisation with every country trying to do everything,” she said.
“A competitive continental industry will be built through specialisation — cotton in one location, spinning and weaving in another, garment production elsewhere, and African design, branding, finance and retail connecting the entire chain.”
AfCFTA could unlock Africa’s textile manufacturing potential
The case for regional textile production is reinforced by the structure of African trade.
Afreximbank’s African Trade and Economic Outlook 2026 estimates that intra-African trade accounted for approximately 18% of the continent’s total trade in 2025.
Manufacturing accounted for only about 34% of African exports, compared with roughly 70% globally.
This leaves many African economies dependent on exporting commodities whose prices they do not control while importing manufactured products at higher cost.
AfCFTA could help change that equation by creating a sufficiently large regional market to support investment in the “missing middle” of the textile chain.
These activities include:
- Spinning
- Weaving
- Knitting
- Dyeing
- Finishing
- Garment manufacturing
The World Bank has estimated that full implementation of AfCFTA could raise Africa’s real income by approximately 7%, or nearly $450 billion, by 2035.
It also projected that intra-African exports could increase by more than 81% compared with a scenario without the agreement, with particularly strong gains expected in manufacturing.
Crucially, the World Bank analysis found that much of the potential benefit would come from reducing non-tariff barriers and improving trade facilitation rather than tariff reductions alone.
For textile companies, that distinction is critical.
Border delays can erase tariff advantages
A lower import tariff is of limited value if a shipment of yarn spends days at a border, customs officials demand different documents, technical standards vary between markets or transport costs eliminate the savings generated by preferential tariffs.
“The problem is no longer simply tariffs. It is the cost and uncertainty of moving goods across African borders,” said Tararama Gutu, a Zimbabwean agro-industrialist, value-chain strategist and co-founder of Cotton Pro Company Pvt Ltd.
Gutu said rules of origin need to encourage African value addition without becoming so complicated that smaller manufacturers cannot use the preferential trading system.
“Rules of origin need to encourage genuine African value addition without becoming so complicated that smaller manufacturers cannot use the preferential trade system.”
This is particularly important for small and medium-sized textile businesses, which may not have the administrative resources to navigate complex customs and certification requirements.
Electricity and infrastructure remain major constraints
AfCFTA alone cannot eliminate the structural challenges facing African textile manufacturers.
Spinning, weaving, dyeing and finishing are energy-intensive activities that require reliable electricity, industrial water, specialised machinery and skilled workers.
Poor roads, congested ports and limited access to trade finance can add further costs.
These challenges can make African textile production uncompetitive even when preferential tariffs are available.
Muritala said the industry requires speed and predictability as much as physical infrastructure.
“Building roads and ports is only one part of the equation,” he said.
“Customs procedures, documentary requirements, border inspections and varying standards can all increase lead times and logistics costs.”
A regional textile industry therefore needs more than roads and factories. It requires efficient border systems, common standards, predictable customs procedures and reliable trade corridors.
Investment is growing, but integration remains limited
There are signs that investment is beginning to respond to the opportunity.
Governments across Africa are expanding industrial parks and seeking to attract textile and clothing manufacturers.
Regional institutions are also promoting connections among cotton growers, processors and exporters.
The AfCFTA’s Guided Trade Initiative has enabled participating countries and companies to test preferential trading arrangements through actual commercial shipments.
However, the evidence of a fully integrated continental textile supply chain remains limited.
There are still relatively few examples of manufacturers sourcing large and sustained volumes of cotton, yarn or fabric from neighbouring African countries.
Instead, textile production is developing through individual national and regional clusters.
“Regional sourcing is increasing in selected countries, but it is not yet increasing strongly enough to constitute a continent-wide structural shift,” Mba-Kalu said.
“We have established and emerging clusters, not yet a seamless continental chain.”
According to Mba-Kalu, AfCFTA has provided the legal architecture, but Africa now needs factories, financing systems, common standards and predictable trade corridors to turn the agreement into a functioning industrial network.
Cross-border industrial corridors could connect textile clusters
Afreximbank has advocated the development of cross-border industrial corridors and joint processing zones supported by policies that encourage trade in intermediate goods rather than focusing exclusively on finished products.
Such an approach could connect cotton-producing countries that lack sufficient spinning capacity with established or emerging textile centres elsewhere on the continent.
For example, a country with a strong cotton-growing sector could specialise in production and ginning while another develops spinning and weaving capacity.
A third could build competitive garment manufacturing, while brands, financial institutions and retailers connect the different stages.
This division of labour could allow countries to develop specialised industrial capabilities rather than attempting to build complete textile industries independently.
It could also provide factories with access to a much larger market.
A manufacturer that cannot achieve efficient scale by serving one national economy could potentially sell across multiple AfCFTA markets.
That prospect could help justify investment in capital-intensive stages such as spinning, weaving, dyeing and finishing.
It could also create stronger demand for African cotton.
A larger market must become a real market
However, the size of the African market on paper is not enough.
For manufacturers, what matters is whether they can actually reach customers competitively.
“The next test is whether customs systems, tariff schedules, transport corridors, standards and payment systems can make that market real at the factory gate,” Mba-Kalu said.
This means the success of AfCFTA will depend not only on trade policy but also on the practical conditions under which businesses operate.
If companies cannot move goods reliably across borders, access finance or receive payments efficiently, the theoretical benefits of a continental market will remain limited.
African consumer demand must guide investment
The development of textile manufacturing must also be driven by demand.
Muritala said governments, manufacturers and investors need to work with African brands and retailers to ensure that new production capacity meets actual market requirements.
“It is crucial that policymakers, manufacturers and potential investors collaborate with brands and retailers on the continent so they can steer the supply to where the demand is,” he said.
This is important because building textile factories without understanding consumer preferences could lead to excess capacity or production of goods that do not match market demand.
African brands and retailers can therefore play an important role in signalling what types of yarns, fabrics and garments manufacturers should produce.
That would help create stronger commercial links throughout the value chain.
AfCFTA is more than a duty-free trade agreement
he textile opportunity shifts the AfCFTA debate beyond the simple idea of reducing tariffs.
Its industrial value lies in whether it can create repeat commercial relationships between cotton growers, ginners, spinners, textile mills, clothing manufacturers, brands and retailers operating in different African countries.
A successful regional textile industry would mean that African businesses increasingly buy inputs from other African businesses rather than relying on suppliers outside the continent.
Gutu summarised the ambition:
“African cotton — African yarn — African fabric — African dyeing and finishing — African garments — African consumers and export markets.”
That model would retain more value within Africa while creating opportunities for investment and employment.
Global supply-chain changes create an opportunity
The timing could also favour Africa.
Global supply chains are being reshaped by geopolitical tensions, protectionism and companies’ search for more resilient and diversified suppliers.
This could create an opening for African textile manufacturers, particularly if they can first build scale by serving regional markets.
Africa’s geographic proximity to major global markets, combined with its large consumer base and significant cotton production, provides a foundation for developing a more competitive textile sector.
But turning that potential into reality requires more than attracting individual factories.
The continent needs connected production networks.
How should Africa measure textile transformation?
The success of AfCFTA’s textile agenda should ultimately be measured by commercial evidence rather than policy announcements.
Important indicators include:
- How much African yarn and fabric manufacturers purchase from other African countries.
- How quickly textile inputs and finished products move across borders.
- How many businesses can successfully claim AfCFTA tariff preferences.
- How much new spinning, weaving, dyeing and finishing capacity becomes operational.
- How much investment flows into textile manufacturing.
- How many stable industrial jobs are created.
- How much additional value African countries retain from cotton production.
- Muritala said the direction of travel is positive, but the transformation remains at an early stage.
“The direction of travel is very encouraging [but] the transformation is still in its early stages,” he said.
“The opportunity now is to move from isolated success stories to integrated continental value chains.”
Can AfCFTA stitch Africa’s textile industry together?
AfCFTA has given Africa a framework for connecting its cotton fields, factories and consumers.
The next challenge is turning that framework into commercially viable production networks.
If African countries can reduce border delays, harmonise standards, improve logistics, expand industrial finance and encourage specialisation, the continent could retain significantly more value from its cotton and textile industries.
The objective is not for every country to manufacture every textile product.
Instead, Africa could build a network in which countries specialise, trade intermediate products efficiently and collectively serve a market