UNIDO and WTO are mobilising USD5 billion in investment over a 10-year period, to establish modern textiles and garment industry across West and Central Africa.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, WTO Director-General, disclosed during the WTO 14th Ministerial Conference.
“Today, around 98 percent of the region’s cotton is exported as raw fibre, although the region has the potential to position itself as a gateway for processing and transformation into textiles and garments.
“We are on the cusp of creating a modern textiles and garment industry across West and Central Africa”, said Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
The fund will be disbursed under the ‘Partenariat pour le Coton (PPC)’, which is a multi stakeholder support mechanism convened by WTO and UNIDO for the C-4+ countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Tchad and Côte d’Ivoire).
PPC brings together committed international organizations, finance institutions, and private-sector partners to mobilize the investment needed to transform the cotton-to-textile value chain and to translate trade into meaningful development outcomes.
UNIDO Managing Director Gunther Berger, commented that following the successful completion of its diagnostic phase (2024-2025), which identified priority investment areas across the C-4+ countries, the PPC is now entering a critical implementation phase.
He emphasised that To o effectively support countries in attracting investment, donor funding, blended finance solutions and risk mitigation instruments must be mobilised at scale.
