But achieving that growth will require investment in the continent’s missing manufacturing stages – particularly spinning, weaving, dyeing and finishing—along with fewer barriers to regional trade. Instead, they said, the continent’s greatest challenge lies in transforming fragmented production into an integrated industrial ecosystem capable of competing on the global stage. “We are stuck in an exporter’s trap where Africa just basically exports raw cotton and brings in finished products,” said Gutu. Instead, she argued for complementary specialisation across countries: “One integrated regional supply chain from cotton to finished garment, instead of 54 separate, scattered efforts. “The competitive advantage of Africa’s cotton textile and apparel sector will be achieved through integrated regional value chains, where countries are not doing everything alone, but collaborating, focusing on areas of specialisation, and then growing together.”