Africa produces cotton, inspires global fashion and boasts a vibrant creative industry. Yet much of the economic value generated from these resources is captured beyond the continent. Launched during CANEX WKND 2026 in Lagos, Nigeria, the Africa Made It campaign seeks to change that narrative by promoting local manufacturing, strengthening Africa’s textile value chain and encouraging consumers to support African-made products.
Africa’s fashion and textile industries hold considerable potential to drive industrialisation, create employment and strengthen the continent’s economic independence. However, despite its abundant natural resources and creative talent, Africa continues to capture only a limited share of the value generated by its cotton and fashion industries.
The Africa Made It campaign, launched during the Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) WKND 2026 in Lagos, aims to address this imbalance by encouraging African countries to move beyond exporting raw cotton and invest in a fully integrated fibre-to-fashion value chain.
Built around three pillars “Power, Protect and Purchase” the campaign seeks to mobilise governments, investors, manufacturers, fashion brands and consumers to strengthen local production and retain more economic value within Africa.
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The initiative highlights the potential of the sector to contribute an estimated US$34 billion annually to Africa’s GDP through increased domestic textile and garment production.
In an interview with AllAfrica’s Nontobeko Mlambo, Abimbola Ogundairo, Senior Consultant at Africa Practice, discusses the campaign’s ambitions, the challenges facing Africa’s textile industry and the lessons other African countries can draw from Benin’s emerging manufacturing sector.
What inspired the Africa Made It campaign, and why is it important for the continent?
Africa Made It is a movement designed to showcase the investment potential of African-made brands, starting with the fashion industry.
Its significance lies in a challenge we have faced for decades: Africa contributes enormous value to the global economy but captures very little of the wealth generated from its resources.
Take cotton, for example. Thirty-seven of Africa’s 54 countries produce cotton, yet the continent captures less than 2% of the global cotton economy. And cotton is only one example. The same challenge exists in other sectors, including cocoa and gold.
Africa Made It aims to bring these conversations together and address the missing links in our value chains, particularly the lack of local processing and manufacturing capacity. We want to engage policymakers, development institutions, investors, businesses and other stakeholders across the value chain to explore how we can connect these different elements.
The objective is to ensure that more of the value Africa produces remains on the continent rather than being exported for others to benefit from.
How does the campaign align with CANEX’s broader ambition to develop Africa’s cultural and creative industries?
Platforms such as CANEX are incredibly important because the creative industries have long been overlooked as sources of economic value and cultural identity. Across Africa, young people are achieving remarkable things in fashion, music, art and other creative sectors, often despite limited institutional support.
Africa already exports enormous cultural influence and creative talent. Our fashion, music and artistic expressions have a global presence. The question is whether we have the mechanisms in place to capture the economic value associated with that influence.
CANEX provides an opportunity to bring the right stakeholders together. It allows creatives to showcase their achievements while engaging directly with policymakers, investors and institutions capable of providing the infrastructure, financing and policies they need.
What makes these platforms particularly valuable is their ability to move the conversation beyond isolated initiatives towards coordinated, sustainable solutions. We need to institutionalise the support systems that allow creative businesses to grow and ensure that the economic benefits generated by African creativity remain within the continent.
What are the campaign’s main objectives, and what changes does it hope to bring to Africa’s fashion and textile industries?
The campaign aims to unlock the enormous economic potential of Africa’s cotton-to-fashion value chain.
Research estimates that an investment of approximately US$1.8 billion across the continent could help create up to two million permanent jobs and generate US$33 billion in annual household income. For African countries seeking to accelerate industrialisation, increase revenue and create employment, this represents a significant opportunity.
Benin provides an interesting example. Through the development of the Glo-Djigbé Industrial Zone, the country has begun transforming its cotton industry.
According to the figures we have seen, Benin has moved from exporting approximately 90% of its raw cotton towards processing around 30% locally. The country is also reportedly exporting about 10 million garments annually and aims to create 300,000 permanent jobs by 2030.
These developments demonstrate what can be achieved when investment, infrastructure and industrial policy are aligned. This is why our campaign is built around three pillars: Power, Protect and Purchase.
Power means providing African manufacturers and businesses with the energy, financing and infrastructure they need to operate and expand.
Protect focuses on creating fair trade policies and addressing illicit imports and other practices that undermine the competitiveness of local industries.
Purchase is about encouraging governments, businesses and consumers to buy African-made products.
We must move away from the assumption that foreign products are inherently better. Buying African is not only an expression of cultural identity and pride. It is also an economic decision that supports local businesses, creates employment and strengthens our economies. Ultimately, we want to build a movement that brings all stakeholders together to close the gaps in Africa’s manufacturing value chain.
Why is it important for African consumers to recognise, support and take pride in locally made fashion?
As a Nigerian, I grew up in a society where people take enormous pride in wearing traditional clothing and expressing their cultural identity. For many Nigerians, wearing local styles is already part of everyday life. However, there is an important economic dimension to this conversation.
We may proudly wear African prints and traditional fabrics without realising that some of these materials are manufactured outside the continent. Ankara, for example, is widely associated with African fashion and identity, yet much of the fabric is produced elsewhere.
This raises an important question: when we celebrate our cultural identity through fashion, are we also supporting the local industries and workers who should benefit from it?
Cultural pride should translate into economic empowerment. We need to ensure that the clothes we wear and the products we celebrate contribute to employment, manufacturing and wealth creation within our own countries.
Africa has contributed immense cultural and economic value to the world for generations. We should also be able to capture the financial benefits of that contribution. We do not want to become a continent that proudly wears its cultural identity without benefiting economically from it. We can do both: celebrate who we are and build industries that create prosperity for our people. That is the thinking behind Power, Protect and Purchase.
What specific activities, partnerships or initiatives are needed to turn the campaign’s ambitions into tangible results?
Everyone has a role to play in building a sustainable African fashion and textile industry. The value chain begins with cotton farmers, who need access to agricultural inputs, technical skills and resources to improve the quality and productivity of their crops. It extends to processing facilities, storage, transportation, manufacturing infrastructure and the policies required to attract investment.
Governments have a responsibility to create enabling environments, while investors must recognise the opportunities available across the industry. Fashion businesses also have an important role. They should consider whether they are sourcing materials locally, working with African manufacturers and supporting artisans within their communities. The media and other storytellers can help raise awareness of the industry’s potential and highlight successful initiatives. Development institutions and international investors also have opportunities to contribute.
Regional integration is particularly important.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) provides a framework for strengthening trade and industrial cooperation across African countries. For example, cotton could be grown in Nigeria, processed in Benin and transformed into finished garments elsewhere in the region. Different countries could contribute at various stages of production, allowing more of the economic value to circulate within Africa.
We should also recognise that fashion extends beyond clothing. Technology is creating new opportunities, including the use of artificial intelligence to improve garment design, sizing and the consumer experience.
The industry encompasses accessories, innovation, logistics and many other activities. Our challenge is to connect these different elements and ensure that businesses have access to the resources they need to grow.
You have highlighted Benin as a success story. What lessons can other African countries learn from its experience?
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One of the most important lessons from Benin is the value of creating an environment that encourages private investment. The Glo-Djigbé Industrial Zone demonstrates how cooperation between the public and private sectors can support industrial development. The government has played a role in facilitating investment and establishing conditions that encourage manufacturing. Such partnerships are important because building a textile industry requires substantial investment in infrastructure, energy, transport and production facilities.
Benin’s experience also shows the importance of moving beyond the export of raw materials towards local processing and the production of finished goods. The country is now reportedly exporting approximately 10 million garments annually. Other African countries can learn from this approach by developing policies that attract investors, encourage industrial partnerships and support local manufacturers. Ultimately, the lesson is that industrial transformation requires coordination, long-term commitment and a willingness to invest in domestic value creation.
How will you measure the success of the Africa Made It campaign?
The campaign is designed to raise awareness, encourage dialogue and connect stakeholders across Africa’s cotton-to-fashion value chain. In the short term, success will mean generating greater recognition of the opportunities available in the sector.
We want to see more conversations involving policymakers, investors, development institutions, manufacturers and fashion businesses. We also want these discussions to lead to practical collaboration. That means identifying where investment is needed, which policies require reform and how institutions can work together to support local businesses.
African entrepreneurs should not have to succeed despite structural obstacles. They should be able to thrive because the right infrastructure, policies and institutional support are in place. In the longer term, success will be measured by tangible economic outcomes. We want to see investment mobilised, manufacturing capacity expanded and sustainable employment created.
The estimated US$1.8 billion in investment and the potential US$33 billion in annual household income illustrate the scale of the opportunity.
If African countries, investors and businesses work together, we can build stronger industrial value chains and ensure that more of the wealth generated by Africa’s resources and creativity benefits African people. That is the transformation Africa Made It hopes to achieve.
