Afreximbank Urges Transformation of Africa’s Cotton Sector into Textile Industry
- George Elombi, the President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), has called for urgent and coordinated multi-stakeholder action to transform the...
- The call was made during the Fourteenth World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference held in Yaounde, Cameroon.
- The primary objective of this initiative is to transform Africa's cotton sector from a raw commodity export base into a competitive textile and garment industry.
Dr. George Elombi, the President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), has called for urgent and coordinated multi-stakeholder action to transform the cotton sector across Africa.
The call was made during the Fourteenth World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference held in Yaounde, Cameroon. Dr. Elombi addressed delegates at the event, emphasizing the need to shift the continent’s approach to cotton production, and trade.
The primary objective of this initiative is to transform Africa’s cotton sector from a raw commodity export base into a competitive textile and garment industry
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Afreximbank indicates that this structural transformation is necessary to drive fairer global trade and increase the value retained within African economies.
Institutional Support and Value Addition
This call for action aligns with existing efforts by Afreximbank to support value addition in the cotton-textile-garment (CTG) sector in developing countries. The bank has previously hosted the Steering Committee of the Partenariat pour le Coton (PPC), which serves as a global platform for this purpose.
The PPC’s efforts have included an initial focus on the C4+ countries, which include Benin, Burkina Faso, and Chad, to support the transformation of their respective cotton industries.