Development Bank Ghana says it is committed to restoring the fortunes of the textiles and garment industry as a cornerstone of Ghana’s economic revival.
Dr Randolph Nsor-Ambala, the Chief Executive Officer of the Development Bank Ghana (DBG), said through strategic financing, policy collaboration, and sector-wide partnerships the trend could be reversed.
Ghana’s textiles and garment industry once a pillar of national employment and industrial strength, has seen its workforce decimated from over 25,000 direct jobs in the late 1970s to just 6,000 by 2020 undone by liberalisation and unchecked imports.
“We recognise this decline not as a conclusion, but as a call to action,” he said at a policy dialogue on the textiles and garments industry in Accra.
The dialogue organised by the Development Bank Ghana (DBG) in collaboration with the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) was on the theme “Revamping Ghana’s Textiles and Garments Industry-The Challenges, Pitfalls and Opportunities.”
The dialogue was to discuss and identify key policy bottlenecks, pitfalls and opportunities within the textiles and garment industry.
It is aimed at formulating policy recommendations to accelerate growth in the sector and is part of DBG’s broader initiative of supporting SMEs and PFIs in the textiles and garment value chain through technical assistance and capacity building.
The textiles and garment sector, one of Ghana’s most strategic manufacturing segments, has been nudged with renewed buoyancy.
The discussions during the dialogue centred on how cheap imports, uneven customs enforcement and fragmented incentives had eroded competitiveness while outlining a suite of reforms to restore momentum.
“DBG stands at the forefront of Ghana’s development agenda—not just as a financier, but as a long-term driver of structural transformation,” he added.
He said through partnerships, policy alignment, and inclusive finance, DBG was laying the groundwork for a competitive and resilient economy.
The dialogue on the textiles and garment industry is part of the wider mission to catalyse sustainable industrial growth across the country.
He sad a sector-wide feasibility study was being commissioned to address the chronic lack of industry intelligence, mapping the entire value chain from raw material cultivation to fabric processing and garment production.
“DBG is working collaboratively with its Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs) to identify five investor-ready, bankable project pipelines that can be supported,” the CEO said.
He said to complement these efforts, the Bank was also conducting a comprehensive capacity needs assessment to inform the design of technical assistance programmes for both industry players and financial institutions.
These interventions will anchor DBG’s forthcoming sector action plan, combining data, finance, and capacity-building to drive measurable industrial transformation.
DBG and AGI announced plans to distil the dialogue into a policy brief, complete with draft regulations, enforcement measures and investment incentives.
“DBG will embed the recommendations in an industry action plan, pairing long-term lending with hands-on technical assistance for players across the value chain,” he said.
Dr Humphrey Kwesi Ayim Darke, AGI President, urged the government to deliver a stable, export-oriented incentive regime, arguing that manufacturers were poised to invest once clear rules are in place.
He said building on these insights, DBG outlined a suite of focused initiatives to help reposition the sector for growth.
Experts expect that effective execution will expand wax-print capacity in Tema, scale cut-and-sew lines in Accra’s industrial enclaves and pivot Ghana’s industrial policy toward value chains capable of absorbing young labour at scale.
GNA
