DUBAI – The continued investor interest in Africa as the Next Big Thing in apparel sourcing appears to be showing no sign of slowing down. Reports from Kenya suggest that Dubai-based textile business, United Aryan, has inked plans to build a major garment factory which could employ up to 10,000 workers at Olkaria geothermal fields in the Naivasha town, just to the north west of Nairobi in Kenya’s Nakuru county. United Aryan, is seeking to take advantage of low electricity costs. United Aryan already counts the likes of H&M and VF Corp as customers.
With plans for the factory to be built in next two years, United Aryan says it will manufacture trousers, knit tops, fleeces, shirts and robes. As well as providing a significant number of local direct jobs, the owners say the factory will offer indirect employment to around 40,000 Kenyans. It will manufacture products for sale in Kenya, as well as exporting to the United States and Europe, according to company founder-chairman, Pankaj Bedi. Covering 20 acres, the factory will have six units with the capacity to produce and wash more than 100,000 pieces of attire daily.
United Aryan currently operates at Baba Dogo’s Balaji Export Processing Zone in Ruaraka, where it manufactures apparel for export.
Ethiopia is viewed by many as the main African growth hotspot for apparel sourcing, however, many brands have privately expressed frustration with doing business there, citing issues such as slow and expensive logistics, inefficient customs, low productivity levels and inconsistency in power availability.
Meanwhile, under the Kenya National African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) strategy, the apparel sector is the largest contributor to job creation in Kenya currently, credited with supporting over 200,000 full-time jobs. It is also Kenya’s highest earning sector, accounting for 85 per cent of its US$389 million in 2016 AGOA exports.