Why garment producers are choosing Ethiopia
ADVERTORIAL
2 hours ago
The fashion industry is setting its sights on Ethiopia as a new home of manufacturing. Martijn van der Erve, CEO of Erve Group, saw the opportunity to produce in Ethiopia as an alternative to popular manufacturing locations like Bangladesh. In 2014, the company established Beconnected Africa, a buying house for finished garments. Following its success, it was joined by Beconnected Industrial, two factories under one roof specializing in printing and labels. “Our garment industry expertise since 1985 has been transferred to Africa”, says Simona Marta Grava, director of Beconnected Africa.
“Ethiopia is the next frontier for textiles”, Van der Erve says, citing the country’s many advantages for customers and employees. As one the of fastest-growing economies in the world, Ethiopia offers duty-free importing opportunities, competitive energy costs and wide-ranging government support for international invest