White Paper

Focus on Africa: The Dark Continent Brings New Light for Sourcing

This white paper looks at 5 elements executives need to be on the lookout for when sourcing from Africa:

• Production facilities

• Raw material sources

• Labor pool

• Logistics and export capabilities

• Infrastructure

In recent years, the apparel and footwear industry has shifted its sourcing away from China to other emerging markets due to increased labor, transportation, tariffs, and other supply chain costs.

Africa has emerged as a particularly attractive manufacturing option because of the preferential treatment granted under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which provides duty-free access to the U.S. market for eligible countries. However, sourcing in Africa comes with its share of risk and obstacles.