Africa gathers at Trade Event taking place in Cape Town

Source Africa, the Textile, Apparel and Footwear trade event is taking place on Thursday 19 June & Friday 20 June at the CTICC and will bring together African manufacturers from across the continent with regional and international buyers.

The annual event is the most important annual pan-African textile, clothing and footwear trade event on the international calendar, encouraging links between buyers, manufacturers and suppliers, supporting investment into manufacturing capacity in Africa and accelerating job creation for many years to come. The event was designed to show that African textile, apparel & footwear manufacturers can compete on price, quality and standards. It brings together manufacturers, suppliers and service providers in one major integrated event, enabling buyers to examine a wide array of products and services in one efficient trip.

Commenting on the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) of which she will be speaking about at Source Africa, Assistant United States Trade Representative for Textiles, Gail Strickler says, "The Obama Administration is committed to a "seamless" renewal of AGOA. It has the opportunity, in the lead-up to the August Leaders' Summit, to define the elements of a renewal package that will effectuate the Administration's commitment while taking into account the lessons of the last 14 years of administering the program and changes in the global trading system over that time. I am proud of the efforts of the US government to support Africa's textiles and apparel industries, and I am delighted to attend Source Africa 2014 in Cape Town to meet with top industry players and discuss the next steps required to make the sector even stronger."

Steve Lamar, Executive Vice-President of the American Apparel and Footwear Association will be opening the event, and a number of key industry leaders such as Mercedes Gonzalez, Director of Global Purchasing Companies and Sascha Breuss, Managing Director and CEO of Zando will also be talking on a range of industry issues such as attracting foreign sourcing and navigating trade policy.