Restraints on Uganda’s Fashion and Textile Industry

By Christoper Burke

The main challenge to the development of the fashion and textile sector in Uganda is scale.  The local market today stands at over 80 million people comprising of 48 million in Uganda in addition to South Sudan, Rwanda, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and northwestern Tanzania. 

Levels of disposable income, however, remain low across the region despite the rhetoric of Uganda’s impending middle-income status.  The recent establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is unlikely to provide significant market opportunities in the foreseeable future. 

Uganda is landlocked.  In the absence of a properly functioning rail network, the average road transportation cost from Kampala to the coast is US$2.5 a ton–more than double average international rates for the same distance. Uganda also lacks sufficient infrastructure for the development of a globally competitive industry. Other challenges include the quality and availability of labor, the cost and reliability of power and the inequitable application of taxes.  Tax compliant medium to small scale textile and fashion outfits struggle to compete with the plethora of small enterprises that remain unregistered with the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA).

Charity Ayiorwoth who runs a tailoring workshop in the inner Kampala suburb of Kamwokya complains power is out two to three times a week for up to whole day making work very difficult.  Frustrated by such challenges, Ugandan fashion designer Stella Atal relocated to Paris almost a decade ago where continues to promote African fashion.

The textiles sector played a lead role in the early stages of Europe’s industrial revolution and was an important driver in East Asia’s miracle economies.  Textiles present backward and forward of linkages and diverse employment opportunities along the entire supply-chain. 

Over 90 percent of Uganda’s cotton is exported in raw form according to the Makerere University-based Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC). While the country’s cotton exports are dwindling, cotton continues to be a key export with an average value of almost US$39 million per annum over the past decade as reported by Bank of Uganda.

In the meantime, the Ugandan market has been flooded by garments of varied quality from China, India and increasingly Turkey. Neighboring Kenyan and Tanzania present additional competition.  According to Bank of Uganda, textile imports reached US$243 million in 2021.

Over 80 percent of the clothes worn in Uganda are second hand from Europe and North America.  In 2016, the East Africa Community (EAC) proposed to restrict the imports of used clothes to protect domestic markets and boost industrialization across the region.  This attracted a swift response from Washington DC, with threats to review the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).  The EAC with the exception of Rwanda, quickly relented and further discussions on the introduction of tariffs to protect local markets from secondhand clothes was dropped. AGOA allows Uganda to export over 6,000 products to the US duty-free.

The EU has a similar programme known as Everything but Arms (EBA).  Development partners including Alliance Française, the German Goethe Institute and the European Commission (EC) regularly organize fashion shows, workshops and commission projects in support of Uganda’s fashion industry.

Fashion stylist Joram Muzira suggests the “industry in Uganda is evolving.”  Progress is slow.  While some argue it is too early to implement import substitution in Uganda, the Rwandan government has already achieved substantial success with the introduction of polices to protect and promote the domestic fashion and textile industry.

A core challenge is the availability of inputs. A very limited selection of polyester fabrics are produced in Uganda.  Machinery, fabrics and materials including threads, buttons and zippers are all imported from China, India and increasingly Kenya.  This adds to costs and diminishes the appeal for Ugandan-made products in the potential export markets of Europe and North America.

The commonly accepted national dress for men is a long Arab style tunic known as a Kanzu, introduced by Islamic traders in pre-colonial times.  The national dress for women was designed by the British headmistress at Gayaza Junior School.  Influenced by Victorian/Edwardian style the dress is commonly referred to as a Gomesi named after the Indian tailor who stitched the first one together in 1914.

Uganda enjoys a rich and diverse indigenous culture. However, the contribution to fashion in terms of materials, styles or patterns transferable to modern fashion and textiles remains limited. The indigenous bark cloth from the fig tree Ficusnatalensis is not functional or durable and tends to disintegrate when wet.  Moreover, it has strong negative associations with death across the central region of Uganda where it is used as a burial shroud.

Catherine Sawe was trained in fashion and design at Makerere University and carved out a niche targeting children’s wear.  Catherine suggests the solution is research to identify and develop indigenous Ugandan styles and patterns that resonate with the broader public. 

The fashion and textile sector will grow as the economy expands, infrastructure improves, incomes rise and demand increases. Experiences in other parts of the world, especially Asia and Central America where governments successfully established policies and programmes to promote textile sectors, indicate the transformation is likely to occur over decades rather than months or years.

The establishment of a robust, globally competitive, self-sustainable fashion and textile sector is contingent on market growth, the implementation of effective policies, improvements to infrastructure and the supply of quality labor.  Uganda would do well to identify a niche or niches for itself to leverage trade opportunities to add value and identify viable export markets.

Christopher Burke is the managing director of WMC Africa, a communications and advisory agency in Kampala, Uganda.  He has over 25 years’ experience working on communications, development, governance and peace-building in Asia and Africa.