The Malawi Investment Trade Center (MITC) has called for players in the clothing and textile, apparel and footwear industry to participate in a trade exhibition event known as Source Africa to take place in June this year in Cape Town, South Africa.
Mitc public relations manager Deliby Nyale said in an interview yesterday that the annual International trade event, seeks to encourage linkages between buyers, manufacturers and suppliers, as well as investment into manufacturing capacity in Africa’s textile, apparel and footwear players.
According to Nyale, the trade exhibition is designed to demonstrate that African textile, apparel and footwear manufacturers can compete on price, quality and standards.
“This event is a good opportunity for Malawi to showcase our products, expose our companies to international markets as well as learn on how we can improve our products to match international standards,” she explained.
She said the event is specifically for African manufacturers and suppliers of products such as men’s wear, women’s wear, children’s wear, fashion brands and labels, clothing textiles, home fabrics and made-ups, footwear, bags, belts, leather garments and hosiery’ fashion accessories and jewelry.
Nyale said Mitc is encouraging Malawian companies in the mentioned sectors to participate in this trade show having understood that that most of the textile and clothing companies in Malawi are failing to grow due to among other challenges lack of reliable markets.
“So we are saying this is a great opportunity for them to interact with potential international buyers and identify markets for their products,” she added.
It is expected that key African and international decision makers and buyers of textile, apparel, and footwear from various chain stores, independent retailers, boutiques manufacturers, importers, wholesalers, agents, media, associations and government organisations will attend the trade exhibition. Source Africa textile, apparel and footwear trade event is organised to achieve two objectives of promoting African made textiles, garments and footwear to international and African buyers, and to boost intra- regional trade between African countries.
This year’s event is being coordinated by Usaid Southern Africa trade hub in partnership with an event management company LTE from South Africa.
