Textile & clothing value chain roadmap of Ethiopia

The goal of Ethiopia’s Textile and Clothing (T & C) Value Chain Roadmap is to set the sector on the course of strategic development by addressing constraints in a comprehensive manner and defining concrete opportunities that can be realized through the specific steps detailed in its Plan of Action (PoA). Ethiopia’s current model has performed well, yielding strong economic and social returns. Even so, performance has fallen short of the sector’s targets and it has become clear that the industry must unite and evolve in order to leapfrog into higher growth and value addition.

The sector’s strategic orientation should follow a twofold approach. Firstly, Ethiopia can build on its current success and leverage its cost competitiveness to expand market diversification and penetration. Secondly, the sector can capture greater value by pursuing full value chain integration, first by bridging the skill gap to increase productivity, especially considering upcoming wage increases, and later by enhancing weak upstream capacities. The PoA responds to this vision by setting four strategic objectives to support its implementation.

1. Improve productivity and employment outcomes through skills development.

2. Strengthen the enabling environment to favour sector development.

3. Establish conditions to harness foreign direct investment (FDI) as an engine for growth in T & C.

4. Foster product and market development through the use of trade information.

5. Enable market penetration and product development through trade intelligence.