GARMENTS, TEXTILES & LEATHER SECTOR

Garments, Textiles and Leather sector of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) deals with the industry along the production and life value chain of clothing, garments and leather. Textile manufacturing in Ghana is an industry consisting of ginneries and textile mills producing batik, wax cloth, fancy printed cloth and Kente cloth. Firms located in Ghana serve local and regional markets with printed African patterned fabrics. The industry has shown signs of significant growth in recent years promoting high-quality traditionally designed fabrics as “Made in Ghana: to niche markets, especially the US.

Ghanaian textile companies prefer to locate within designated and industrial areas to take advantage of Ghana’s free zone regime and stable operating environment. Today, Ghana’s textile industry includes vertically integrated mills, horizontal weaving factories and the traditional textile manufacturing firms involved in spinning, hand-weaving and fabric processing.

Textile exports include: Cotton Yarn, Cotton Fabric, Printed Fabric, Polyester Fabric, Blankets and Bed Sheets.

The dry, savannah climate in the Northern regions of the country is ideal for the cultivation of cotton, which is the primary material used by mills, weavers, batik and tie-dye manufacturers in Ghana.

The industry is supported by National Vocational Training Institutes throughout the country. These institutes provide basic practical and theoretical training in tailoring and dressmaking. There are also a growing number of private fashion design institutes and internationally acclaimed designers that teach latest techniques to aspiring textile designers.

Actors within this sector include producers of cotton, wool, fashion designers, retailers, textiles companies, shoes, bags amongst others. Other players also include large scale garment producers and exporters.

This sector supports such industry players by providing a conducive atmosphere to help grow the sector.

SECTOR CHAIR

MRS. DORIS NANA KESSIE

Born in the late 1950s, Doris Nana Kessie has actively been working in the domestic and international fashion business industry for the past thirty-five years. She started her career as a factory garment worker and dressmaker and the finally as an embroiderer with the passion to educate others through the development of her own business and a fashion institute.

With a passion for artistic creations, Doris has spent her entire adult life sewing and designing couture clothes for her family and friends. This exposure and deepening of experience grounded her skill set, which has helped her to train over thirty-eight young apprentices whilst steadily securing clients for twenty-five years. Upon relocating to Accra in 2004, Doris launched D-G Embroidery as her sewing and design business evolved to include embroidery and screen printing.

Initially beginning with a free-hand embroidery machine located in her home study, Doris invested in two digital machines in 2004 and by 2008 invested in one 4-head embroidery machine, a button-making machine and a 6-head screen printing machine. Within a few years, the small home based business expanded into a successful medium-sized embroidery venture with over thirty-five clients (mostly repeat) such as West African Gas Pipeline (WAPCO), Japan Motors, Danadams Pharmaceutical, State Insurance Company (SIC), Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) and individual business interests.

Since 2010, Doris has had the privilege of interacting with student interns from the Accra and Takoradi Technical Universities and in 2016 was inspired to add other creative endeavors such as bead making, tie-dye, hand embroidery and batik printing to her business.