Benin Republic is rapidly positioning itself as the new textile and garment hub of West Africa, sparking concern among Nigerian manufacturers over the country’s growing influence in a sector once dominated by Nigeria.
Targets $1.4 Billion in Investment and 300,000 Jobs by 2030
At the heart of this transformation is the Glo-Djigbé Industrial Zone (GDIZ), located just 45 km from Cotonou. Developed through a joint venture between the government of Benin and UAE-based Arise IIP, GDIZ has become a modern textile ecosystem housing 1,640 industrial units with vertically integrated factories producing garments and home textiles primarily for European and U.S. markets.
Backed by $1.4 billion in planned investment and a goal to create 300,000 jobs by 2030, the zone is reshaping regional trade dynamics and drawing in international interest.
Benin’s ascent is also supported by its status as Africa’s largest cotton producer and a core member of the ‘C4+’ countries—Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, and Ivory Coast—which collectively contribute 60% of Africa’s cotton output, according to the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC).
The global spotlight on West African textiles intensified after the Partnership for Cotton (Partenariat pour le Coton) initiative was launched at the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi earlier this year. This initiative, designed to transform the cotton value chain in the region, is accelerating foreign direct investment (FDI) in countries like Benin, Ghana, and Togo.
According to Navdeep Sodhi, Managing Partner of Gherzi Sub-Sahara and a global textile expert, the U.S.-China trade war and added tariffs on Chinese goods have played to Africa’s advantage. Under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), Sub-Saharan African countries enjoy duty-free access to the U.S. market, giving them a competitive edge despite a temporary additional 10% tariff.
However, Sodhi warned that the September expiry of AGOA could undermine this advantage unless renewed. Encouragingly, a hearing has been scheduled by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) for July 18 to evaluate AGOA eligibility for 2026, which many hope signals intent for renewal.
Sodhi further noted that even without AGOA, access to European markets under preferential trade agreements provides exporters with an alternative route for growth.
In response to these developments, Olatunji Olarewaju, Executive Secretary of the Organized Private Sector Exporters’ Association (OPEXA), urged Nigeria to follow the lead of its ECOWAS peers. He called for investment in world-class industrial zones to boost non-oil exports, especially within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) framework.
Olarewaju welcomed the Nigerian government’s recent announcement to establish a Textile Board, calling it a long-overdue step in reviving Nigeria’s once-vibrant textile industry. “No power on earth can stop an idea whose time has come,” he said, emphasizing the urgency of aligning policy with industrial transformation.
With a regional population nearing 500 million and a youthful, trainable labor force, West and Central Africa are poised to become a global textile manufacturing base—provided the right investments, infrastructure, and trade frameworks are implemented.
