An Exploratory Study on the Rwandan Fashion and Textile Industry

Sammanfattning: Following the banning of imported textiles, the Government of Rwanda introduced the “Made in Rwanda” policy in 2015 to encourage local domestic markets and the citizens of the country to buy Rwandan-made products. This thesis evaluates the impact of the import restrictions or the “Made in Rwanda” policy on the Rwandan people so far. An exploratory study on the Rwandan fashion and textile industries is portrayed to understand potential stakeholders’ perspectives overshadowing the growth of local domestic businesses. A literature review of the textile industry in the African context was conducted before gathering five interview participants to participate in the study. Two fashion houses, one apparel manufacturing company, and two local tailors were interviewed for this study. A SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) was used to analyze the data collected during the interviews. The findings of this thesis show that the end of secondhand clothing has resulted in people not being able to afford Rwandan-made garments. “Made in Rwanda” textiles are perceived as not affordable for everyone and have bad quality. Furthermore, this thesis opens the conversation about the new activities of Chinese firms relocating to Rwanda for a transfer of knowledge and technologies, but this perception could be misguided. This thesis thus seeks to start a conversation on identifying areas from improvements in the policy and challenges faced by local markets and consumer activity in the industry after the introduction of the import restriction.