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UpFront
UpFront with Africa Market Insider Skander Negasi
“How Do You Assess Africa's Development Potential in the Clothing Market?”
By Yvonne Heinen-Foudeh, Senior International Correspondent in collaboration with FASHION TODAY
With its textile industry, the African continent represents a sourcing alternative to Asian countries, and textile recycling is becoming increasingly important. The NEEDLE'S EYE asked market insider Skander Negasi, CEO of the Trade and Fairs Group, about the current state of the African textile industry and the overall prospects for the textile recycling sector on the African continent.
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Skander Negasi, CEO of Trade and Fairs Consulting, operates his consulting & event agency from local branches across the African continent. This beyond apparel & textiles segment includes the technology & production, food & beverages, and tourism sectors. The company, which has been active in a number of African markets for 15 years, has its headquarters in Germany on the outskirts of Frankfurt am Main.
Skander Negasi’s role as organizer of AFRICAN SOURCING & FASHION WEEK in Addis Ababa, Nairobi, and Dakar gives our interviewee in-depth insights into market developments and international demand trends.
First, we asked the market expert the burning question of his assessment of the chances of the AGOA agreement being extended. As of today, October 1, the status is that, at the end of September, duty-free exports of goods from a large number of African countries to the United States came to an end after 25 years. Negasi is highly confident that, in one form or another, the US and African markets will reach a follow-up agreement on free trade. The management consultant and organizer of textile and clothing trade fairs on the African continent bases his opinion primarily on the interests of the U.S. in emerging markets. [See also detailed article in this issue: Apparel Sourcing from Africa: Uncertain future of AGOA casts concerns]
Let’s dig deeper: “Despite all confidence that the U.S. Congress will soon take action toward a potentially redefined agreement, a complete loss of preferential market access would hit the economic sectors and thus companies in the clothing sector particularly hard,” we point out. Our local contact person these days agrees with us on this point and adds:
Skander Negasi: ...if a reformed version of AGOA leads to further restrictions on the countries accepted under the agreement, this will result in significantly increased competition among textile and clothing manufacturers.
Editor: What challenges do you see as decisive for the future, apart from the current uncertainty surrounding a follow-up agreement to AGOA, with regard to Africa's clothing and textile industry?Skander Negasi: Unfortunately, the price spiral continues to rise in Africa as well. Sourcing companies and buyers want even cheaper production, which is why costs are now also being cut in Africa. Currently, workers in the cheapest production countries in Africa earn a wage of around 70 U.S. dollars. Another challenge is logistics, which is not yet functioning completely smoothly. Otherwise, all investors benefit from the immense potential of a workforce that is eager to learn and highly motivated.
Editor: Mr. Negasi, what is the current overall situation of the industry in Africa?Skander Negasi: Africa has gradually gained in importance as a production location over the past 15 years. Local companies can export to various Western markets for competitive pricing, be more environmentally friendly, and, in any case, continue to do so duty-free. Producers from Asia, Europe, and Turkey are investing in the continent.
Editor: How do you evaluate current growth opportunities?Skander Negasi: The apparel industry in East Africa, in particular, has experienced strong growth recently. This is not least due to the current U.S. administration's policy of imposing high tariffs on products from China and other Asian countries. The varying tariffs currently amount to 10 percent for some African countries. Regardless of future tariff agreements between Africa and the U.S., China will continue to invest heavily in the continent. Exporting clothing to the U.S. market from here is just one driver.
Editor: Africa is getting flooded with used clothing. What we see in Accra, Ghana, in particular, with mountains of textile waste, much of which is no longer usable, ending up on beaches and in the Atlantic Ocean, is alarming. In your opinion, is there a possibility that a professional textile recycling industry will develop in the near future?
Skander Negasi: Some African countries, such as Ghana and Rwanda, were forced by the U.S. to accept second-hand goods in order to export their goods to the U.S. cheaply or duty-free. Unscrupulous marketers from Europe are also contributing massively to the problem. Over time, this has resulted in textile waste dumps, mainly due to fast fashion consumption in the Western world, with unusable goods that no one locally wanted to buy. Environmental problems arose because these goods were not recycled. You rightly describe the alarming images of the beach in Ghana, which is overflowing with used apparel as well as over-production.
In recent years, African governments have been fighting back against this pressure and promoting their own production and entire value chains in their own countries. Rwanda, for example, has banned the import of used textiles. Kenya and many other countries are following suit. There are now a number of agencies and start-ups that create new products from old fabrics, whether it be creative fashion or upholstered furniture, home decor, bags, and more. The same applies to used leather.
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Yvonne Heinen-Foudeh
Senior International Correspondent in collaboration with FASHION TODAY
Fast facts on ASFW Addis Ababa From October 30 to November 2, 2025, AFRICAN SOURCING & FASHION WEEK will open its doors for the 11th time in the Ethiopian capital this year.
Following the premiere event with ASFW Addis Ababa in October 2015, which was Africa's largest textile and clothing trade fair at the time. Further ASFW events are set to take place in Nairobi, Kenya (5th edition, Africa's second-largest textile trade fair) and Dakar, Senegal (1st edition). Messe Frankfurt is an important partner of ASFW Addis Ababa and also collaborates with partners GIZ (also a founding member of ASFW Dakar), the International Trade Center (ITC), UNIDO, and ILO.
The annual ASFW Addis Ababa attracted over 250 exhibitors and 6,000 trade visitors from 70 countries in 2024, while ASFW Nairobi attracted just under 200 exhibitors and over 3,000 trade visitors from over 40 countries. As the ASFW Addis Ababa format has grown, the event will move to the new, larger Addis International Convention Center in 2025. This year, the exhibition and conference will focus more strongly on cotton, as well as circularity and artificial intelligence in the textile and fashion industry. Over 300 exhibitors and more than 7,000 trade visitors are expected to attend the upcoming Ethiopia edition.
An estimated 15 million 2nd hand pieces of garments are reaching Ghana every week. About 500,000 unusable items end up in open spaces and informal dumpsites from Accra’s Kantamanto Market. Systematic development of and support for professional textile recycling on-site can be part of the solution to the problem. Photo: Courtesy of GreenPeace
About Africa’s growing start-up scene for pre-loved productsEditor: In your opinion, is textile recycling an economically relevant field for the future?Skander Negasi: Despite a lack of investment from abroad, there are many young designers who are creating something new and special from used textiles. At Trade & Fairs Consulting, we believe that this sector will gain ground and grow further in the near future.
Editor: How important is sourcing on your own platform?Skander Negasi: Sourcing and fashion are our top priorities, as AFRICA SOURCING & FASHION WEEK supports the production and export of clothing ‘made in Africa’. Additionally, we have created the “Circular Eco Systems” area, where second-hand retailers, in particular, showcase their design products. The topic of sustainability and recycling will also be addressed at the ASFW Conference. Through our trade fair and sourcing orders, ASFW has created over 50,000 new jobs, primarily for female workers. This is one of the reasons why the marketplace has been growing steadily for ten years and is supported by various governments and organizations. Editor: Can you give us some examples of innovative companies that are active in the textile recycling sector?Skander Negasi: Organizations such as “Africa Collect Textiles” and “Closing the Loop of Textile Waste”, both from Kenya, or “Rewoven in South Africa”, produce goods such as backpacks, textile containers for interior use, handbags, and shopping bags from used materials.
Editor: How important is sourcing on your own platform?Skander Negasi: Sourcing and fashion are our top priorities, as AFRICA SOURCING & FASHION WEEK supports the production and export of clothing ‘made in Africa’. Additionally, we have created the “Circular Eco Systems” area, where second-hand retailers, in particular, showcase their design products. The topic of sustainability and recycling will also be addressed at the ASFW Conference. Through our trade fair and sourcing orders, ASFW has created over 50,000 new jobs, primarily for female workers. This is one of the reasons why the marketplace has been growing steadily for ten years and is supported by various governments and organizations. Editor: Can you give us some examples of innovative companies that are active in the textile recycling sector?Skander Negasi: Organizations such as “Africa Collect Textiles” and “Closing the Loop of Textile Waste”, both from Kenya, or “Rewoven in South Africa”, produce goods such as backpacks, textile containers for interior use, handbags, and shopping bags from used materials.
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