Africa's textile industry is witnessing a significant shift with the growing access to shared power and water treatment facilities. Industrial park developers are providing common utilities that textile producers pay to use, reducing the installations each factory needs to finance. This model has already been implemented in Ethiopia, Benin, and Togo, where wastewater plants operate in industrial zones alongside factory sites, grid connections, and logistics services.
The shared infrastructure model could further ease entry into spinning, dyeing, and finishing in Africa's cotton hubs. Traditionally, water, energy, and waste treatment have added to the expense of machinery. However, with shared infrastructure, developers can provide common utilities, reducing the capital burden on manufacturers. According to Rajeev Arora, a Kenya-based cotton, textile, and apparel specialist, shared industrial infrastructure can help connect different stages of textile production and support more sustainable manufacturing.
Research by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group found that shared infrastructure can reduce the cost of industrial investment and spur economies of scale. Common facilities such as wastewater treatment plants, testing laboratories, logistics hubs, and transport links allow firms to access services they might struggle to finance on their own. This model has been successfully implemented in Hawassa, Ethiopia's textile and apparel park, which has a treatment plant designed to handle 11 million liters of wastewater a day.
The Hawassa treatment plant uses a process known as zero liquid discharge, treating industrial wastewater for reuse within the park. For manufacturers, the service comes with the factory location, and its running costs fall partly on the public institution managing the zone. A World Bank study found that Hawassa's system cost $3.40 per cubic meter to operate, while factories paid $0.80 per cubic meter of wastewater treated.
Similar arrangements are being proposed to expand African textile production. Countries seeking to turn cotton into yarn, fabric, and clothing need mills with reliable water and energy supplies, as well as equipment to handle the waste they produce. The demands increase with the amount of processing carried out locally, as cutting and sewing imported cloth require a different set of services from bleaching, dyeing, and finishing fabric.
The International Trade and Research Centre has proposed extending this approach through parks offering common wastewater treatment, renewable power, laboratories, and waste recovery services. Sharing facilities could spread investment costs across manufacturers and make environmental services accessible to smaller producers. This approach is linked to the competitiveness of African textile suppliers, citing energy reliability, resource costs, and the environmental information sought by international buyers.
However, commercial returns have varied across countries, and manufacturers must make operations transparent to buyers through production records and real-time reporting. To fund new investment, Arora proposed combining development finance and commercial loans with equipment leasing to reduce the upfront capital required to establish a mill. Grants could also play a role in supporting sustainable textile production in Africa.
Key points
- Shared infrastructure reduces costs and supports sustainable manufacturing in Africa's textile industry.
- Industrial park developers provide common utilities, easing the capital burden on manufacturers.
- Shared infrastructure can help connect different stages of textile production and support more sustainable manufacturing.
