Source Africa to take place in April 2013

03 Nov '12

2 min read

Source Africa, the biggest textiles and apparel trade event in Africa, has been launched in Cape Town, South Africa. The trade fair, which will take place from 9 – 12 April 2013 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, will provide regional and international buyers with an unrivalled opportunity to explore Africa’s sourcing opportunities.

The event comprises a two-day trade exhibition featuring African country pavilions, a matchmaking programme that introduces buyers to vendors, facilitated factory visits for international buyers to countries in the region, and a series of professional seminars explaining why sourcing from Africa makes sense, highlighting investment opportunities in the region, addressing compliance issues, environmental stewardship, labeling product safety and preferential trade access.

At the launch held to announce the event, Cynthia Brown, Public Diplomacy Officer at the US Consulate General in Cape Town said in her keynote address:

“This is the perfect time to inaugurate Source Africa. In the past decade, trade between Africa and the rest of the world has tripled, private foreign investment has surpassed official aid, and it will surely keep rising.”

“Africa, as our business community is learning, now offers the highest rate of return on foreign direct investment of any developing region in the world. In fact, it’s the only developing region where the growth rate is expected to rise this year.”

Through the US’s African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA), Africa’s textile and apparel sector has attracted major brands such as Levi’s, Wal-Mart, Gap, Old Navy, Victoria’s Secret, Target and Calvin Klein, creating around 300,000 jobs in an industry primarily staffed by women.

In Europe, the Everything But Arms (EBA) system of trade preferences allows Duty Free, Quota Free access to products from many textile and apparel producing countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including Madagascar, Lesotho and Tanzania.

Source Africa