The President of JACCD Design Institute Africa, Madam Joyce Ababio, is calling on government to establish fabric and accessories manufacturing centres in Ghana or attract foreign manufacturers to set up locally.
Speaking exclusively to Business Outlook Africa, Madam Ababio argued that the current reality where designers must travel abroad to source raw materials is making Ghanaian fashion uncompetitive on the global market.
Adding that the cost burden of sourcing fabrics abroad which spans from converting dollars to paying import duties and taxes leaves local designers at a disadvantage and makes them unable to match the prices of international brands selling comparable garments at a fraction of the cost.
“ If let’s say we want to be the fashion hub of Africa, it will mean a lot of things.We would want to bring in people who bring in garments, accessories, fabrics, different other things, because Ghana’s challenge for we, the people who produce and manufacture is we have to step out of Ghana to go and buy the fabric from somewhere. You change the dollar to go and buy it. You come back and pay duty, taxes, whatever it is.By the time you are done with this, you can’t compete. No, you can’t. You are still here in Ghana.It’s the only thing you can do. You can’t step out. That’s our biggest challenge.So if we are going to be like some sort of fashion hub, we want to be able to bring in companies that produce those fabrics and stuff so that it’s easy for us to buy it here.” She stated
The President of JACCD Design Institute Africa also called for a rethink in the tax and duty regime for the fashion industry, urging policymakers to take a cue from countries that offer zero duty and zero VAT on inputs for registered manufacturers, a policy she believes is critical to helping Ghanaian designers scale up and compete on the export market.
“Then we have to look at these duties and taxes and whatever it is. Other countries do it for zero duty, zero VAT for those who are manufacturing, based on whether you are registered for it and all that sort of stuff.It makes it easy for us to scale up and move our things out of the country. Those are the things that I think they need to look at. It’s just ridiculous to be manufacturing and you are not able to actually scale up anyhow because the cost involved is too much.” She added
Madam Ababio then acknowledged that Ghana’s fashion industry has made significant strides since she first arrived in the country, pointing to the growing number of Ghanaian designers making their mark on the global stage. She however noted that sustaining that momentum requires deliberate government policy interventions, as the remaining challenges are beyond what individuals in the industry can resolve alone.
Watch the full interview here:
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