2025 has been a transformative year for Africa’s textile and apparel industry. Global trade disruptions, rapidly shifting US tariff policy, and sweeping new demands for sustainability collided with a continental push to deepen intra-African trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The result: firms that relied on legacy patterns of preferential access were forced into adaptation, while visionary actors pressed ahead with data, sustainability, and regional value chains as foundational levers of competitiveness.
Two developments stood out: first, a recalibration of US tariff policy that affected the economics of AGOA-based exports; second, measured advances in AfCFTA’s trade infrastructure (customs systems, corridor diagnostics, payment platforms). Together, these developments forced exporters and policymakers to shift from reliance on preference to building durable, performance-based models. The success stories of 2025 were those that embraced agility, integrated strategy, and technology-enabled foresight.
