Exhibiting products at trade shows has numerous benefits. It allows meeting face-to-face with potential customers and suppliers, to create networking and build relationships, sell products and share experiences. It is also a platform that is helpful to discuss the available opportunities and challenges. Especially, when it is an international trade fair, the benefits are grand.
Thus, business communities always aspire to seize the opportunities and take part in the platform. Recently, an international trade show, a Texworld Evolution Paris, dedicated to the textile industry and exhibitors drawn from different parts of the world showcased their latest textile products and innovations was organized in Paris, France.
Ethiopia has also gotten the opportunity to display its textile and leather products. As some of the participants stated, the platform was an important stride in allowing Ethiopia’s fashion products to join the international market. According to FBC’s recent report, Ethiopia has taken part in the 2023 edition of Texworld Evolution Paris, an international fashion industry fair.
According to Mahlet Hailu, Ethiopian Ambassador to France, the international fair is a large gathering of textile industries. She said the occasion is a great opportunity for Ethiopia to promote its weaver and leather products and attract new buyers. Texworld Evolution Paris, which is carried out twice a year in Paris, brings together a thousand exhibitors from the fashion industry.
It offers professional buyers from all over the world a sourcing platform with a wide variety of products ranging from basics to the most creative and qualitative. The Ethiopian Herald approached Ker ezhi Ethiopia Leather Manufacturing Company owner and CEO Zelalem Merawi to have his reflection regarding the benefits of Ethiopia’s participation in this grand trade fair, Texworld.
According to Zelalem, primarily showcasing at such international platform has greater importance for several reasons. Exhibiting at Texworld offers numerous benefits, including the opportunity to showcase the latest textile products and innovations to a global audience. The trade show attracts a diverse range of visitors, including manufacturers, designers, wholesalers, retailers, and fashion brands, providing exhibitors with the opportunity to network and establish new business relationships.
The venue is a prestigious place in the fashion industry, and partaking at such showcasing offers a range of educational programs and seminars, covering topics such as sustainable fashion, textile innovation, and global market trends.
What is more, the program provides exhibitors with the opportunity to stay up-to-date with the latest developments in the industry and improve their business promotion practices. “Ker ezhi Ethiopia is working in the leather manufacturing and building brand around the world, we have franchised our brand in USA, Kenya, South Africa; we will keep on promoting Ethiopia’s leather market around the world.”
Mentioning that Ethiopia has unique potentials in the textile and leather sector, and globally the leather industry has the potential to generate over forty thousand billion USD capital, Zelalem said that however Ethiopia though is rich enough with leather resources, it is not getting its share at the desired level due to various factors. If stakeholders work on it, it could pull a great number of citizens out of poverty.
Ker ezhi Ethiopia is committed to promoting Ethiopia’s leather and textile products at the international market, he added. For a productive and sustainable outcome the tannery industry management and the practice of promotion should be overhauled because Ethiopia has the potential. “We are witnessing the nation’s tannery industry getting challenged, which was the pioneer of manufacturing.”
It was learnt that the show is a major business and inspiration platform. According to documents the fashion industry in Ethiopia is a relatively new and a growing sector that has been gaining attention in recent years. The country’s fashion industry is centered on Addis Ababa, the capital city, and is characterized by a unique blend of traditional Ethiopian styles and modern fashion trends.
One of the main strengths of Ethiopia’s fashion industry is the availability of locally sourced materials, such as cotton, leather, and silk. The country is also known for its unique weaving techniques, which produce intricate patterns and designs that are popular with both local and international fashion designers.
In recent years, the government has been actively promoting the development of the fashion industry as part of its economic development strategy. The Ethiopian Fashion Industry Development Project (EFIDP) was also devised in 2015 with the target to support the growth of the fashion industry and increase exports of Ethiopian fashion products.
The EFIDP provides training and support to fashion designers and entrepreneurs, as well as access to finance and marketing opportunities. The project also promotes the use of locally sourced materials and sustainable fashion practices to create unique and environmentally friendly fashion products.
Ethiopian fashion designers have gained international recognition in recent years, with some designers showcasing their designs at major fashion events, such as London Fashion Week and New York Fashion Week. Ethiopian designers are known for their use of traditional Ethiopian fabrics and textures, as well as their incorporation of modern fashion trends.
In addition to the development of the fashion industry, Ethiopia has also been promoting the growth of the textile industry, which is a key supplier of materials to the fashion industry. The government has implemented a range of policies and initiatives to support the development of the textile industry, such as tax incentives, export subsidies, and investment in infrastructure.
BY MENGISTEAB TESHOME
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 6 JULY 2023
