African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has hosted a two-day meeting of the Steering Committee of the Partenariat pour le Coton (PPC), a global platform established to support transformation and value addition in the cotton-textile-gar­ment (CTG) sector in developing countries.

With an initial focus on the C4+ countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, and Côte d’Ivo­ire), PPC aims to drive sustain­able transformation and value addition in the CTG sector by enhancing economic returns, cre­ating employment opportunities, and promoting economic, social and environmental sustainability.

Delivering the opening remarks at the meeting, held at Afreximbank Headquarters in Cairo Mrs Kanayo Awani, Exec­utive Vice President for Intra-Af­rican Trade and Export Develop­ment at Afreximbank, noted that development of the cotton sector presents significant opportunities to enhance economic growth across Africa.

The sector it said contributes between 45 and 60 per cent of GDP and foreign exchange earn­ings in some countries.

However, she highlighted a recent study by the Steering Committee which revealed that textile and garment manufactur­ing sector in some C4+ countries remained at a nascent stage.

“Therefore, to upgrade and integrate into the global cotton sector value chain, we must ad­dress a range of issues, including low yields and limited processing capacity, climate change and vari­ability, market fluctuations, global cotton prices, weak infrastructure and inadequate access to modern technology,” Mrs Awani said.

She emphasised that, as a member of the C4+ initiative, Afreximbank was committed to supporting African countries to move up the cotton value chain – transforming raw cotton into textiles and clothing.

Working with strategic part­ners, Afreximbank aims to help establish modern textile and gar­ment industries in C4+ countries and across the continent to real­ise the development aspirations of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Mrs Awani noted that the Steering Committee’s delibera­tions were centred on mobilising capital and investment to trans­form the African cotton sector.

She highlighted several financial and non-financial instruments that Afreximbank could deploy to support this goal, including project prepara­tion funding, tailored financing and advisory solutions, debt and equity financing, export advisory services, SME support, insurance solutions, digital platforms to improve market access and com­pliance, and trade facilitation and investment promotion support.

“Through our active partici­pation in the Partenariat pour le Coton, we reaffirm our commit­ment to supporting Africa’s drive for sustainable industrialisation and local value addition. By working alongside partners, we are helping unlock critical invest­ments, strengthening technical capacity, and promoting sustain­able practices across the cotton sector,” Mrs Awani said.

The outcomes of this Steering Committee meeting represents an important step towards realising the C4+ countries’ vision of a globally competitive cotton-tex­tile-garment industry.

Afreximbank remains com­mitted to championing initiatives that create jobs, boost trade and drive inclusive economic trans­formation,” Mrs Awani informed participants during the meeting.

Emphasising the importance of the outcome in his opening remarks, Mr. Jean-Marie Pau­gam, Deputy Director-General of World Trade Organisation (WTO), and Chairperson of the steering committee said ‘I hope that the discussions over these two days will yield concrete results for the industrialisation and local processing of cotton in partner countries. We will be able to report these results to WTO members at our next discussion on cotton, scheduled for the 14 of May at the WTO, which will address all issues facing the cotton industry in the C4 and other developing countries.”

The meeting, which brought together key stakeholders working to advance sustainable industrialisation across Africa’s CTG value chain, also included the formal signing of an amend­ment to the Trust Fund Agree­ment between Afreximbank and UNIDO.

This amendment reinforc­es Afreximbank’s US$ 80,230 grant to finance a baseline study critical to the development of the cotton-to-textile value chain under the PPC – delivered with­in a WTO-FIFA cooperation framework.

 The African Marketing Confederation (AMC) and the Technology In­formation Confederation Africa (TICON Africa) have sealed a landmark partnership with Labadi Beach Hotel

 Under the deal the hotel will serve as the official host and venue sponsor for the highly anticipated AMC & TICON Afri­ca Joint Conference, scheduled to take place from August 20-22, 2025 in Accra.

This strategic collaboration marks a significant milestone in the buildup to Africa’s most in­fluential gathering of marketing, technology, and business profes­sionals.

Following the signing of the venue partnership, the Managing Director of Labadi Beach Hotel, David Eduaful, emphasised the hotel’s commitment to offering an unmatched hospitality expe­rience.

“Labadi Beach Hotel, the first 5-star hotel in Ghana, will ensure that delegates have the best of Ghanaian hospitality and a lifetime memorable experience,” he stated.

The Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ghana (CIMG) and the Institute of ICT Profession­als Ghana (IIPGH), as the host professional bodies for AMC and TICON Africa respectively, will spearhead this fourth edition of the conference.

Expected to welcome over 500 delegates from 35+ coun­tries, the conference will solidify Ghana’s reputation as a hub for innovation, digital transforma­tion, and cross-industry partner­ships.

Aligned with Africa’s Agenda 2063, this event seeks to ac­celerate the continent’s digital economy, strengthen business ecosystems, and drive financial inclusion, ensuring sustainable and inclusive growth.

The Vice President of AMC West Africa and current CEO of CIMG, Kwabena Agyekum, praised Labadi Beach Hotel for coming on board as the official venue sponsor, saying, “We are grateful to the management of Labadi Beach Hotel for ac­cepting our proposal to be the venue sponsor of this presti­gious gathering of marketing, technology, and other profes­sionals across Africa.”

The 2025 conference will focus on fostering synergy between marketing and tech­nology, ensuring Africa remains competitive in the global digital economy.

The President of TICON Africa, David Gowu, expressed confidence in Labadi Beach Ho­tel’s ability to deliver a world-class event experience.

“We are confident Labadi Beach Hotel and its confer­encing facilities will offer the best experience for over 500 delegates from Africa and other continents that will converge here in August,” he said.

 The Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has de­scribed Ghana’s energy sector as the biggest economic risk facing the country.

Speaking during a deep-dive session on the Ghana Energy Compact under Mission 300 at the ongoing World Bank/ International Monetary Fund Spring Meetings in Washington DC on Tuesday, he said the sector was burdened with a financial shortfall of approxi­mately $2 billion.

This amount, he said sur­passed the country’s domestic capital expenditure.

“This challenge goes be­yond tariffs. The entire energy value chain requires urgent reform. Inefficiencies, especial­ly in the distribution sector, are being passed onto the ordinary Ghanaian through high tariffs. ECG alone could cut the short­fall by half if it addresses these inefficiencies.” he said.

To bring stability and sustain­ability to the sector, he said cabi­net had already approved private sector participation.

“We have submitted the leg­islative instrument to parliament to enable competitive procure­ment for power plants. These are critical steps toward bringing transparency and sustainability to the sector.” he said.

The Energy Compact, Dr Forson said had come at the right time as it had the potential to make a lasting impact.

“We are hopeful that the process will not be delayed. Time is of the essence. We must act swiftly to turn this around for the good of our economy and the well-being of our people.” he said.

At the heart of the Spring Meetings are meetings of the joint World Bank Group/IMF Development Committee and the IMF International Monetary

 and Financial Committee, where progress on the work of the insti­tutions is discussed.

 Other featured events include regional briefings, press con­ferences, and fora focused on international development, issues of debt, economic recovery, and private sector mobilization.