THE KENYAN TEXTILE AND FASHION INDUSTRY

30
International Business
Times, “Despite Low Pay, Poor
Work Conditions, Garment
Factories Empowering
Millions Of Bangladeshi
Women,” 25 March 2015.
31
Financial Sector Deepening,
“Gender Equity Issues in
Kenya.”
32
Rachel Heath and
A. Mushfiq Mobarak,
“Manufacturing Growth And
The Lives Of Bangladeshi
Women,” August 2014; World
Bank, “Exports, Equity, And
Empowerment: The Effects
Of Readymade Garments
Manufacturing Employment
On Gender Equality In
Bangladesh,” January 2011;
David Atkins, “Working for the
Future: Female Factory Work
and Child Health in Mexico,”
April 2009.
33
Supra note 31.
34
Ibid.
Industry alignment
Whether or not the collective industry actions
described above are subsidized by the
government, having a strong and effective industry
association for Kenyan garment manufacturers
and Kenyan designers will be critical. These
industry associations can assist or take the lead on
the skills training and trade hub aspects discussed
above, perhaps with government subsidization for
services provided. They can also pool information
on sourcing and apparel trends; negotiate transit
rates to fight the trucking cartels to bring down
the costs of overland travel, and coordinate
communication with the government to raise the
common issues companies are facing. Establishing
a strong Kenyan garment manufacturing
association will be a critical first step to industry
success.
Access to capital
Helping factories address working financing
challenges is the biggest financial lever that
banks could provide to make globally-oriented
business feasible in Kenya. Factories and designers
need to pay for fabrics, trims, rent, electricity, and
workers, all before they receive a dime from their
end-clients. And for CMT producers in particular,
margins are small enough that rates will need to be
very low to avoid eliminating all factory products.
Expanding access to working capital products
at affordable (even government-subsidized)
rates would enable Kenya’s garment sector.
Furthermore, expanding the time horizon on
these products slightly to enable them to be used
for other non-machine upgrades like managers
or internationally-recognized certifications would
also ease the journey to become a globallycompetitive
player.
Gender and youth
Perhaps the most substantial opportunity for
the Kenyan garment industry is to establish its
growth on a socially sustainable basis. Apparel
manufacturing disproportionately employs young
women, and the resulting dynamics can be either
exploitative or empowering.
The opportunities are enormous: the head of
a Bangladeshi think tank argues that “There
is no other industry that can absorb so many
female workers with little schooling or skills.” 30
Bangladesh, a nation of 157m people, employs 4m
in the garment industry, 80-90% women. In Kenya
today only 29% of workers nationwide earning a
formal wage are women. 31 Manufacturing could
be a substantial lever to improve women’s formal
workforce participation. Beyond that, academic
studies have found that garment manufacturing
can help prevent underage marriage, improve
gender parity in education, reduce maternal
mortality, and improve child health outcomes.
32
Women working in factories report increased
self-sufficiency and self-confidence, and are able
to both contribute to the education of siblings or
children, and save money to spend on themselves.
33
One worker told a journalist, “I like it here [in
Dhaka]. I make my own decisions. I can earn
money and help my family…I can do whatever I
want. I can enjoy myself. I have freedom.” 34
However, there are substantial challenges. Many
report issues of sexual harassment, low wages,
dangerous conditions, and violence against
women. There is often role division by gender, with
The Kenyan Textile And Fashion Industry Report
44