Ghana and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) are moving forward with plans to establish a Circular Economy Innovation and Textile Testing Centre, aimed at tackling the country’s growing textile waste challenge while unlocking new industrial development opportunities.
Italy-Funded UNIDO Project Targets Textile Waste and Value Creation
The proposed centre is a core pillar of an Italy-funded UNIDO project being implemented in cooperation with Ghana’s Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry. The initiative focuses on strengthening circular economy solutions across the textile and secondhand clothing sector and was discussed during a UNIDO courtesy visit to Ghana’s Embassy in Rome.
The project—Promoting business and technology development in Ghana’s circular textile sector—is being delivered by UNIDO Italian Investment and Technology Promotion Office with funding from the Italian Agency for the Development Cooperation. According to UNIDO, the centre will offer laboratory testing and technical services to support textile sorting and classification, identify toxic components, and enable second-life industrial applications.
Potential downstream uses include converting discarded textiles into inputs for furniture, insulation panels, automotive components, paper products and agricultural applications—shifting the focus from waste management toward industrial value creation.
The initiative responds to mounting environmental pressures linked to Ghana’s role as one of the world’s largest destinations for secondhand clothing. An estimated 15 million garments enter Ghana weekly, primarily through Kantamanto Market, with roughly 40% eventually becoming waste and contributing to pollution in drainage systems, lagoons and coastal areas.
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UNIDO officials said a mapping and validation exercise is underway to identify a host institution for the centre, with Accra and Kumasi under consideration. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has emerged as a strong candidate due to its technical capacity and expertise in textile research.
The project runs in parallel with a Canada-funded UNIDO programme launched in 2025—the Ghana Circular Economy Centre—a CAD 7.5 million, five-year initiative coordinated with Ghana’s Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation and funded by Global Affairs Canada. The centre is hosted at Ho Technical University, with specialized roles led by the University of Cape Coast (plastics recycling), The Or Foundation (textile circularity), and KNUST (agro-processing efficiency).
Discussions in Rome also covered plans for an Italy–Ghana Circular Economy Dialogue scheduled for June 16–17, 2026, in Accra, alongside Ghana-focused investment roadshows across Italian cities between March and April. These engagements aim to mobilize private-sector interest and technology partnerships linked to the proposed textile testing centre. UNIDO has requested Ghana’s Embassy to support the nomination of a Ghanaian investment resource person to engage Italian firms and institutions.
According to UNIDO data, Ghana imports over 143,000 tonnes of secondhand clothing annually, with up to 23%deemed unsellable and discarded. The Kantamanto Market fire in January 2025, which destroyed more than 60% of the market’s retail infrastructure and displaced over 8,000 vendors, underscored systemic vulnerabilities in textile waste management and intensified calls for structural, long-term solutions.
During a courtesy visit on January 27, 2026, Fatou Haidara, UNIDO’s Deputy Director General for Global Partnerships and External Relations, called for deeper collaboration with Ghana to accelerate industrialisation. Trade Minister Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare requested targeted UNIDO support for garments and textiles, citing their importance for jobs, exports and inclusive growth.
Italian companies bring strengths in textile machinery, quality testing infrastructure and circular economy technologies aligned with Ghana’s needs. UNIDO ITPO Italy has launched sector-focused industrial development programmes in areas where Italy sets global benchmarks, including textiles and fashion, renewable energy and environmental technologies.
Over five years, the Ghana Circular Economy Centre aims to validate 200 circular technologies and business models, train 2,000 small-scale entrepreneurs, and mobilise $10 million in private capital—positioning the proposed textile innovation and testing centre as a strategic anchor for Ghana’s industrial and sustainability agenda.
