Threading the needle: Stitching intra-continental trade with Africa’s apparel ecosystem

If you want to understand the soul of a continent, look at its fabric. Not just metaphorically, but literally. From the indigo-dyed Adire of Nigeria to Kenya’s vibrant Kitenge, Africa’s textiles have long carried stories of identity, resistance and pride. Yet when it comes to trade, the apparel sector remains an underutilised lever for economic transformation and regional integration.
This piece is part of a series exploring sectors that can accelerate intra-African trade. This one on apparel is not just because it is colourful and cultural, but because it is strategic. Using Nigeria and Kenya as anchor points, we’ll explore what’s possible when we move from stitching stories to stitching supply chains.

The fabric of opportunity
Africa produces cotton in 37 countries, yet less than 10 percent of it is processed locally. Meanwhile, the continent imports over $5 billion worth of second-hand clothing annually, with Kenya recently overtaking Nigeria as the top importer. This is not just about fashion. It is also about missed industrialisation, lost jobs and external dependency.

But here’s the twist: the very challenges that plague the sector also present the clearest opportunities for reform. With the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) now in motion, the apparel ecosystem could become a test case for how we build resilient, inclusive, and proudly African value chains.

Nigeria and Kenya: A tale of two textiles
Let’s look at the latest trade data. In 2024, Nigeria exported $2.8 million worth of goods to Kenya, including hair attachments and light rubberized knitted fabric. Kenya, on the other hand, exported $61.6 million to Nigeria, dominated by tea, iron stovetops and medicaments. Apparel still barely registers.
Specifically, Nigeria imported just $1,740 worth of apparel (knit or crocheted) from Kenya in 2024. That’s not a typo. It is a missed opportunity.

Meanwhile, Kenya’s mitumba (second-hand clothing) market remains colossal. In 2023, it was valued at $298 million, cementing Kenya’s position as Africa’s largest importer of used garments. That figure dwarfs Nigeria’s total exports to Kenya nearly 100-fold.

This isn’t because demand is lacking. Both countries have booming youth populations, thriving informal markets and fashion industries, gaining global attention. The problem is structural: fragmented supply chains, weak policy coordination, and overreliance on imports, especially second-hand clothing.
Imagine if even 10 percent of Kenya’s mitumba demand were met by African-made garments. We’d be talking about thousands of jobs, stronger SMEs, and a continent that wears its own story.

What’s holding us back?

• Policy paralysis: Kenya scrapped key import taxes in 2024, making mitumba even cheaper. Nigeria, meanwhile, has yet to fully capitalise on its cotton-growing potential or revive its textile mills.
• Infrastructure gaps: From ginneries to garment factories, the backbone of apparel production is weak or missing.
• Trade mismatch: While AfCFTA promises tariff-free trade, non-tariff barriers like logistics, standards and lack of awareness of payment systems still choke cross-border commerce. The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) offers a solution but more traders need to register and use it.
• Narrative deficit: African fashion is celebrated globally, but intra-African storytelling and market linkage remain underdeveloped. There’s a vacuum here for marketers, PR, and branding firms to fill.

Stitching a new strategy
Here’s what a bold, continent-first apparel strategy could look like:

1. Regional value chains: Nigeria grows cotton. Kenya processes it. Ghana designs. Rwanda markets. South Africa distributes. That’s not a dream. It is a blueprint.
2. Mitumba reform: Gradual restrictions paired with investment in local production can shift consumer habits without hurting livelihoods.
3. SME empowerment: Tailors, designers, and textile cooperatives need access to finance, digital tools, and trade platforms.
4. Creative economy integration: Fashion weeks, influencer campaigns and cultural diplomacy can drive demand for Made-in-Africa.
5. Trade intelligence: Platforms like the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) offer granular data to identify export potential and match supply with demand.

Why this matters
Apparel is not just about clothes. It’s about dignity, identity and agency. When Africans wear African-made garments, they’re not just making a fashion statement. They are making a political one. They’re choosing local value over imported dependency. They’re investing in jobs, pride and possibility.
And when Nigeria and Kenya trade more than just brochures and hair attachments, they signal a shift from symbolic solidarity to structural integration.

A call to action
To policymakers: Stop treating textiles as a relic. They’re a Renaissance waiting to happen.
To entrepreneurs: Think beyond borders. Your market is not just your city. It is your continent.
To consumers: Ask where your clothes come from. And imagine where they could.
To storytellers (yes, you): Let’s write a new narrative. One where Africa doesn’t just wear the world’s castoffs but crafts its own couture.

And for now, let’s keep threading the needle, one stitch, one story, one trade lane at a time.

WALE OSOFISAN

Dr. Wale Osofisan, PhD, is a seasoned governance strategist and policy analyst with over 23 years of experience advancing African-led, evidence-based solutions to political transitions, humanitarian crises and development challenges.