Ethiopia has an established textile industry, whose garment association is anxious to build upon. Connect Ethiopia aims to support the association in developing its export market.

Some of the factors hampering the industry’s growth internationally include difficulties with branding and a lack of expertise in areas such as dying, web design and product development.

Connect Ethiopia has identified experts in these areas to provide workshops and training in Addis Ababa. Samples from three Ethiopian designers from the higher end of the market have been circulated amongst a number of Irish interior designers and retailers and their views on product quality and marketability have helped formulate our strategy. The response so far has been very encouraging.