Home Decorations and Home Textiles Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Madagascar

This programme covers four East African countries: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Madagascar. The goal is to help producers and exporters of home decorations and home textiles in these countries to enter the European market. We want to help them establish sustainable trade relations with European importers.

The home decoration and home textiles sector in East Africa has a lot of potential for export to Europe. The producers in our programme have good design skills. They also have access to good raw materials. We are helping them to aim for higher-end markets in Europe and regionally. That way they will get higher margins.

Home decorations and home textiles usually involve a lot of manual labour. This means that growing exports in this sector can create a lot of jobs, especially in poorer rural areas.

Project details

The programme began in 2012 and ends in 2017. In the first year, we selected and audited participating companies. The purpose of the audits is to find out a company’s  strengths and weaknesses. After that, we began to give the companies training and coaching. We are also working with business support organisations to strengthen the sector as a whole.

One of the training topics is product development. By developing new products, these companies can offer what buyers in Europe want. This means working on design and learning new production skills, for example.

Other important themes are sustainability and social responsibility. A good performance in these areas will help these companies do better business in Europe.

Early on in the programme we invited the participating companies to Europe. Here we trained them in export marketing. They also visited European companies and trade events. Then they began to exhibit at these trade fairs. For example Ecostyle, Heimtextil and Ambiente in Germany and  Maison et Objet in France.

Project participants and products

A total of 19 companies are taking part in this programme. Together, they offer a wide range of product groups, such as woven bags, knitwear, vases and candle holders, basketry, wood and bone products, towels, blankets and much more.

Meet the participants

• You can contact CBI to get in touch with these exporters.
• Another possibility is to meet participants at the next international trade fairs we will attend. Contact CBI for further details.

Partners

CBI is currently not working with any Business Support Organisation in this programme.

Get involved as an importer

If you a European importer interested in home decoration and home textile products from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania or Madagascar, we invite you to watch our video. You can also contact CBI to find out more or about this programme, or to meet with potential suppliers who have been trained for export to Europe.

Get involved in this project