The Rwandan government has signed a US$10 million deal with a Chinese garments manufacturing company C&H. The company will set up a textile manufacturing plant at the Kigali Special Economic Zone. This will make it possible for Rwanda to export her textile garments to Europe and USA in the near future, and in the process, boosting the local manufacturing sector.
The current size of the Rwandan textile manufacturing industry is particularly small, with only one major manufacturer, UTEXRWA, and small handcraft cooperatives which produce handmade clothes.
The company will employ 1000 Rwandese and the number is expected to rise to 30,000 in a span of five years. The signing of the deal is a step forward for the Rwandan government which seeks to create more employment opportunities for its citizens.
The facility is to be ready and operational in 18 months and the government has pledged to cover 50% of the training cost, while the investor will supply the equipment and any other expertise that would be required.
The director of C&H Garments Company said that the step will open up more investments into the country. The textile industry is a high employment sector throughout the developing world and is becoming increasingly more important in the East African region as economies develop.
