How many times to you read the tag on your clothes and see, ‘Made In Africa.’ It’s likely that some of your clothes and shoes read ‘Made in China”, however, that may soon change as one woman aims to move Chinese manufacturing out of solely China and into countries like Africa with her ‘Made In Africa’ initiative. That woman is Helen Hai, the CEO of Made In Africa.
Helen hopes that she can position Africa as a major manufacturing hub for global markets and that through an industrial revolution, Africa can see dynamic, sustainable and inclusive growth. Her hope is that her Made In Africa initiative will allow Africa to replicate the success that China had in the 1960s, when it began to compete against the West as a major industrial producer of home and low-cost goods.
Made In Africa
Having previous success, Helen set up the company’s first factory near Addis Ababa (in Ethiopia) where now 4,000 local people are employed producing shoes for well-known brands like Guess and Nine West amongst others.
Her success in Ethiopia has led her to believe that there is additional opportunity available to attracting manufacturers of industry to not just Ethiopia but also Africa. So could our tags soon read ‘Made in Africa’? If it does, it will help communities in Africa set up industries and provide valuable employment and poverty reduction.
We already valued unique products that are native to Africa such as traditional masks, hand-carved home décor and bold jewelry. Could our everyday shoes and shirts be next?
With your support of artisans from Africa, this can be a possibility. At UNICEF Market, we are focused on empowering creative and industrious people, in less fortunate regions, to have outlets to sell their products and designs to customers in the United States. We give them the platform to reach you.
