Egypt: Improving the international competitiveness of the textile and clothing sector (GTEX/MENATEX)
Overview
Summary
Egypt: Improving the international competitiveness of the textile and clothing sector (GTEX/MENATEX) project directly supports up to 35 small and medium enterprises for denim, knitwear, sports and leisurewear, as well as provides support to improve the dyeing and finishing functions of textiles. Through training, coaching, mentoring, among other activities, the project aims to increase the beneficiary companies' international competitiveness and diversify their export base.
In Egypt, the project partners with the Ministry of Trade and Industry, representing the Government of Egypt. The project also works at the institutional level by building the capacity of T&C support institutions and upgrading their service portfolio to their members. Academic and vocational training institutions are also sustainably linked to the industry and similar peer institutions worldwide through closer partnerships. The project will support educational institutions to upgrade their curricula and adapt to match the industry needs better.
Recipients
Partners
State Secretariat for Economic Affairs of Switzerland
Sustainable Development Goals
ITC’s Global Textiles and Clothing Programme (GTEX) in Egypt works to create jobs and increase the income of micro small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the textile and clothing industry.
We work directly with 35 enterprises in denim, knitwear, sports and leisurewear to diversify their exports and increase their international competitiveness by linking them to new markets and buyers, as well as financing mechanisms so they can expand their production.
Strengthening the sector and boosting exports will have an enormous impact as the industry employs an estimated one million people in Egypt, largely informally.
We provide training, coaching and mentoring in lean management, material sourcing, product design and development, export marketing and branding, and digital upgrading. We support mentoring between larger ‘champion’ companies and smaller companies and assist several business support organizations (BSOs).
We also work to improve social and environmental industry standards and provide support to improve overall dyeing and finishing processes.
Egypt’s clothing sector was badly hit by the COVID-19 economic upheaval. To support the Egyptian textile and clothing industry, ITC through GTEX/MENATEX helped companies pivot into digital processes, increase their online presence, and remodel their traditional production lines into personal protective equipment and face masks.
We created a video library of webinars on topics such as market access, environmental management, trade finance, and digitalization that is available to all the project’s stakeholders and national partners.
ITC also provided an impact study on the COVID-19 crisis, giving stakeholders updated information on the pandemic’s impact on the sector, including employment rates, the number of MSMEs affected, the loss of buyers, and new opportunities in unconventional markets and products.
