Source Africa and ATF Apparel, Textile & Footwear Trade Exhibition Capetown, two of Africa’s largest textile, apparel and footwear shows, have been acquired by Messe Frankfurt SA, a subsidiary of Messe Frankfurt, one of the world´s leading trade show organizers with operations in more than 50 countries and over 134 trade fairs worldwide. Since its inception in 2013, Source Africa has been growing constantly and has become the most important annual pan-African textile, clothing and footwear trade event on the international calendar. 2018 will mark the 6th edition of the event. Source Africa and ATF are founded and currently organized by trade show organizer LTE.

Second textile related activity in Africa

With this acquisition, Messe Frankfurt strengthens its textile activities in Africa. In October 2017, Messe Frankfurt is partnering for the first time with Africa Fashion and Sourcing Week in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia. As part of the partnership, the three new trade fair brands Texworld Addis Abeba, Apparel Sourcing Addis Abeba and Texprocess Addis Abeba will be launched within the Africa

Sourcing & Fashion Week.

Under the umbrella of ‘Texpertise Network’

The latest acquisition in South Africa will supplement Messe Frankfurt’s current portfolio of textile related trade shows under the umbrella of ‘Texpertise Network’. With more than 50 shows worldwide, covering the entire textile value chain, Messe Frankfurt is the market leader in organizing events for the textile industry.

“We believe that Messe Frankfurt South Africa possesses the resources, skills and experience, globally and with the help of our Texpertise Network, to grow these events further” says Konstantin von Vieregge, CEO of Messe Frankfurt SA. He adds: “We are honoured that LTE has selected us as preferred partners, and look forward to working with them to ensure we take both events to a new level. Messe Frankfurt South Africa is committed to ensuring the growth of these industries in SA, and wants to expose South Africa’s potential to the rest of the world.”

William Scalco, Member at LTE explains: “The primary reason for Source Africa and ATF is to promote African made apparel, textiles and footwear and to encourage interaction between international and regional buyers, manufacturers and suppliers. The event also aims to boost investment into the region and ensure sustainable job creation within the sector”.

“Africa is on the Move!”

The report “Africa is on the Move!” from McKinsey & Co. identifies a number of countries in Africa as key destinations for apparel, textiles and footwear. The list of countries mentioned includes: South Africa, Mauritius, Madagascar, Swaziland, Lesotho, Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Egypt. Moreover, the renewal of the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) until 2025 gives another boost to the economy of African countries as it significantly enhances market access to the US for qualifying Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. While many countries are taking advantage of the Act, there are many that are still not realising its true potential.

“It is encouraging to note that South Africa has just signed the EAC-COMESA-SADC Tri-partite agreement. The agreement will offer the advantage of reduced tariffs on goods traded between the tripartite countries and create new opportunities for intra-regional trade” adds William Scalco. “We firmly believe that Africa is ideally placed to take full advantage of these opportunities.”

Source Africa will be taking place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) from 20 to 21 June 2018.

The 2017 ATF trade show will take place from 21 to 23 November 2017 at the CTICC in Cape Town.

The show continues to enjoy the support and endorsement of a number of key government and private institutions including: the Industrial Development Corporation DTI, the South African trade and inward investment promotion agency TIKZN, Enterprise Mauritius, the Lesotho National Development Corporation LNDC, the trade organization ITC, Trade Mark East Africa, the South African Dyers and Finishers Association SADFA, USAID/Southern Africa & the USAID Trade & Investment Hubs, the international trend forecasting agency WGSN, UL, and WRAP, to mention a few.