Texworld, Apparel Sourcing & Texprocess goes to Africa

Following Europe, Asia and America, Messe Frankfurt is expanding its textile events to Africa through a new partnership with Africa Sourcing & Fashion Week (ASFW) in Ethiopia. Thus, from 2017 onward, Messe Frankfurt's three trade fair brands Texworld, Apparel Sourcing and Texprocess will be integrated into ASFW after Messe Frankfurt recently reached an agreement with the fair's organiser Trade and Fairs East Africa.

"For us, this partnership marks the start of our textile trade fair activities on an exceptionally interesting continent."

"Due to increased wages and growing domestic demand within Asia, as well as the AGOA agreement between Africa and the USA, the African continent is becoming ever more important for textile production. Kenya and Ethiopia are playing a leading role in this. Africa's biggest textile trade fair, the Africa Sourcing and Fashion Week, is continuing to grow. By collaborating with Messe Frankfurt and its Texpertise Network, this positive development will be accelerated," commented Skander Negasi, managing director of Trade and Fairs East Africa.

The ASFW will take place for the seventh time in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia in 2017. It serves as a meeting point for garment manufacturers and the east African textile industry, focusing on apparel fabrics, leather, fashion and fashion accessoires to home and contract textiles, technical textiles and the processing and care of textiles. Machine manufacturers for garment production, CAD/CAM systems, printers, inks and accessories also have a strong presence.

"For us, this partnership marks the start of our textile trade fair activities on an exceptionally interesting continent that is becoming more and more important for the textile industry and whose players will come increasingly to prominence," said Olaf Schmidt, vice president textiles & textile technologies at Messe Frankfurt.

Africa is becoming increasingly important for the textile and apparel industry

At the latest ASFW, which is taking place from 4th to 7th October 2016, around 160 international exhibitors are currently presenting their products. After Ethiopia, the strongest visitor and exhibitor contingents come from Turkey, Kenya, the United Arabic Emirates, Tansania, Sri Lanka, India, Italy and Germany.

The textile event portfolio of Messe Frankfurt, known as the Texpertise Network, covers 50 international textile trade fairs by now, including Texworld, Apparel Sourcing, Ethical Fashion Show, Greenshowroom, Intertextile, Yarn Expo, Leatherworld, Heimtextil, Techtextil, Texprocess and Texcare.

In 2015, 19,000 exhibitors and around 465,000 visitors came to trade fairs in Europe, North America and Asia that covered the entire value creation chain – from apparel fabrics and fashion to home and contract textiles, technical textiles and the processing and care of textiles. By expanding its reach to Africa, Messe Frankfurt is taking an important step into a region that is becoming increasingly important for the textile and apparel industry, proven by initiatives like Cotton Made in Africa and first textile and apparel hubs in Nigeria and Botswana.

Photo: asfw-online.com