The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) presents a transformative opportunity for African cotton, textile, and clothing enterprises to form cross-border production networks, attract investment, and retain more value within the continent. By establishing a shared regulatory framework and a larger market, AfCFTA aims to strengthen factories, trade corridors, and regional economic integration.
Over five years after AfCFTA’s implementation, the textile sector serves as a critical test case: Can it successfully link cotton producers, spinners, weavers, and manufacturers into a cohesive regional production network?
While AfCFTA offers market access and preferential trade terms, its success hinges on enabling businesses to move raw materials across borders efficiently, converting this potential into operational factories, investments, and employment.
A compelling model envisions cotton from Benin being spun into yarn in Côte d’Ivoire, woven in Ghana, and transformed into clothing for sale across West Africa. This specialization approach allows countries to focus on specific production stages, maximizing value retention between the farm and retail.
The central challenge lies in determining whether AfCFTA can make regional supply chains more cost-effective, reliable, and efficient than importing from Asia. Arisekola Muritala of the International Trade Centre notes early signs of a shift from fragmented, export-oriented models toward regional processing, though he describes the transformation as nascent.
Signed in 2018 and effective since 2019, AfCFTA requires member states to implement tariff schedules, harmonize customs procedures, and enforce rules of origin to qualify for preferential treatment. Of the 55 African Union members, 54 have signed the agreement, with 49 ratifying it by early 2025.
Rules of origin are pivotal for textiles, determining how much production must occur within Africa to qualify for reduced tariffs. Overly lenient rules risk undermining the agreement, while strict ones may exclude manufacturers reliant on imported intermediate goods. For cross-border value chains to function, these regulations must account for intermediate products traversing multiple countries.
Sand Mba-Kalu of the Africa Cotton, Textile and Apparel Centre emphasizes specialization as key to competitiveness. “Africa should avoid replicating every stage of production nationwide,” she argues. “A viable continental industry requires regional specialization—cotton in one region, spinning in another, garment production elsewhere—with design, branding, finance, and retail systems connecting the chain.”
AfCFTA addresses Africa’s structural trade imbalance, where intra-continental trade accounts for 18% of total trade in 2025, and manufacturing represents only 34% of exports—versus 70% globally. By fostering integration, AfCFTA seeks to support investment in the “missing middle” of textile processing, including spinning, weaving, dyeing, and finishing.
The World Bank estimates full AfCFTA implementation could boost Africa’s income by 7% (over $450 billion) by 2035, with intra-African exports rising over 81%. Much of this benefit stems from reducing non-tariff barriers and enhancing trade facilitation, not just tariff reductions.
For textile businesses, logistical challenges like border delays, inconsistent paperwork, incompatible standards, and transport costs matter more than duty savings. “The cost and uncertainty of moving goods across borders,” notes Zimbabwean agro-industrialist Tararama Gutu, “undermines the potential of lower tariffs.”
Power supply disruptions, inadequate infrastructure (poor roads, congested ports), and limited access to trade finance further hinder progress. Muritala highlights that customs procedures, document requirements, and varying regulations significantly increase lead times and costs beyond physical infrastructure deficits.
Investments in industrial parks and regional collaboration aim to address these gaps. AfCFTA’s Guided Trade Initiative has enabled pilot shipments testing preferential trade terms. However, evidence of a fully integrated textile chain remains sparse, with regional production developing in localized clusters rather than seamless networks.
“We see established and emerging clusters, not yet a unified continental chain,” Mba-Kalu says. “AfCFTA provides the legal framework; the next step is building factories, financing systems, common standards, and predictable trade corridors.” Afreximbank advocates cross-border industrial corridors and joint processing zones to connect cotton-growing regions with textile centers, expanding market access for manufacturers.
Market size alone is insufficient. “Customs systems, tariff schedules, transport corridors, standards, and payment systems must transform theoretical markets into functional ones at the factory gate,” Mba-Kalu stresses.
Demand alignment is crucial. Muritala stresses collaboration between policymakers, manufacturers, and African brands to ensure new capacity meets market needs. This goes beyond tariff reductions, focusing on fostering recurring trade between producers, spinners, and retailers across borders.
“African cotton, yarn, fabric, finishing, garments, and consumer markets—the full value chain should originate and thrive in Africa,” Gutu affirms. Geopolitical shifts and supply chain resilience drives create opportunities, particularly when regional scale justifies investment in capital-intensive stages like spinning and finishing.
The transformation’s success will be measured by tangible indicators: procurement volumes of African intermediates, cross-border shipment efficiency, tariff preference utilization, operational factory capacity, and job creation. “The trajectory is promising, but we’re still in early stages,” Muritala concludes. “The next phase requires transitioning from isolated success stories to an integrated continental value chain.”
AfCFTA offers Africa the infrastructure to connect its cotton fields, factories, and consumers. Its effectiveness depends on translating legal frameworks into operational networks and making intra-African procurement a commercially viable strategy for manufacturers.
