Call for collaboration in textile Industry
Mpho Mokwape | Tuesday February 25, 2014 23:59
Giving an overview of the textile and clothing strategy during a textile and clothing stakeholders’ consultative forum in Gaborone recently, Sentsho said despite the industry’s growth, lack of collaboration within factory owners slow its drive to be a globally competitive industry.
He explained that though the industry operates on a competitive basis, captains of the industry have to recognise the importance of collaboration as a way of creating linkages for an aggressive sustainable industry.
Sentsho further said collaboration could create partnerships within the industry so as to reduce the cost of importing raw materials that can be acquired local from other manufacturers.
“Lack of collaboration within the industry sometimes forces the importation of raw materials from other countries which could be otherwise acquired locally from other factories/manufacturers hence resulting in goods being expensive,” said Sentsho.
However, Sentsho also acknowledged the challenges of collaboration saying with the industry consisting of large, medium, small and micro enterprises, it’s a challenge to create linkages and collaborations as large and medium industries tend to work independently.
“These companies are labour intensive and are often engaged in mass production of merchandise targeted mostly for export markets which makes it difficult to work with smaller companies,” stressed Sentsho.
He explained that the operations for the large and medium industries have backward and forward linkages as they import bulk raw materials to be processed into finished goods for the export markets leaving small enterprises fending for themselves. Sentsho said with small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) mainly citizen owned and having fewer capabilities in entrepreneurial, management and marketing skills compared to large enterprises, linkages are hard to form within the industry.
Meanwhile, on the update of the industry Sentsho said the textile and clothing industry plays a major role in the development and industrialisation process of countries and their integration into the global economy.
He explained that the industry is one of the oldest, largest and most globalised in the world making it a typical starter industry for countries engaged in labour-intensive and export-oriented industrialisation. “The industry is important because it has a relatively low start-up investment which makes it accessible to SMMEs,” said Sentsho.
He said the industry also provides start-up capital for diversified investment portfolios such as the development of high technology industries and employment creation for the low-income groups. It was further acknowledged for empowering women and helping in the poverty reduction through gainful employment particularly in developing.