Webinar Series

What U.S. buyers look for when importing

(Including Utilization of AGOA)

The USAID Southern Africa Trade and Investment Hub has partnered with different trade promotion agencies, buyers from the U.S. and business membership organizations in the U.S. and in Southern Africa to enhance exports from target countries into the U.S. This webinar provided further perspective on what buyers’ value in transactions with firms.

Fielding experts that have interacted with customers, suppliers and other value chain actors, the key discussions enabled suppliers to be better equipped for exporting to the U.S. market.

Download the presentation HERE

Sustainable Fashion

In a COVID-19 world, we’re fully aware of the state of our nation - food insecurity, job losses, 40% unemployment. In this context, how should we think of clothing? Discussion points covered:

• The business of fashion (a brief overview of the fashion value chain)
• Ethics and clothing for development
• Spending money on locally-manufactured clothing and on repairing
• Vertical and /or regional integration of fashion industry inputs and services
• Advice on how to spend money
• Sustainable fashion in South Africa
• Solid and liquid waste management
• There will be a strong focus on local in our discussion

Download the Sustainable Fashion presentation HERE

Download the Africa Connect presentation HERE

The Future of Fashion and the importance of African Trends

With the world eye’s on Africa, it is vital to understand the importance of the fashion industry, its players and the drivers of change, behaviour, patterns and the expansion of opportunity within the sector.

Guided by the Africa Materialising 2020/21 Nicola was joined by Dr Erica De Greef of the African Fashion Research Institute and Sim Dube representing the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to discuss the potential economic growth, promoted economic and political reform.

Download the presentation HERE

Importing Textiles and Apparels into the United States

This webinar was based on a training assembly where experts on the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) program shared the tools to successfully access the United States market.

The webinar covered an overview of the relevant legal framework, which included the laws and regulations for textiles and apparel imports into the United States, insights into South African manufacturers and their specific export considerations, as well as specific AGOA utilization insights from a Lesotho-based export firm.