Major buyers in the United States and South Africa had expressed interest in purchasing garments from Northshore Apparel Ghana even before production began at its newly commissioned factory in Savelugu.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Export-Import Bank (GEXIM), Sylvester Adinam Mensah, disclosed this during the commissioning of the Northshore Apparel Hub in the Northern Region on Friday, August 28.

According to him, the company received letters of intent from prospective buyers in the two countries before the factory produced its first garment.

“Letters of intent from major buyers in the United States and South Africa arrived before the first seam was sewn,” Mr Mensah said.

“The market has already chosen to believe in this factory. We simply had the good sense to believe in it first,” he added.

He said the early interest from international buyers demonstrated the factory’s export potential and its capacity to become a competitive player in the global apparel market.

Mr Mensah noted that the facility would leverage the African Growth and Opportunity Act and other trade arrangements to export Ghana-made apparel to the United States and other international markets.

“Through the African Growth and Opportunity Act and other trade arrangements, this facility will export Ghana-made apparel to the USA and beyond, earning our nation the foreign exchange every nation desperately needs,” he stated.

The GEXIM CEO described the facility as evidence that wholly Ghanaian-owned companies could undertake large-scale industrial projects and compete internationally.

He said the project formed part of GEXIM’s five-year strategic plan, which prioritises investment in garment and apparel manufacturing as a major driver of economic transformation.

GEXIM supported the establishment and operationalisation of the factory through a blended financing model involving the Investing for Employment facility of Germany’s KfW Development Bank and equity from the project promoters.

Mr Mensah said the financing arrangement mobilised capital to expand domestic production, create sustainable employment and improve Ghana’s competitiveness in the international garment industry.

The factory has 50 sewing lines, a 4,000-square-metre cutting and design facility, and 8,000 square metres of storage space for raw materials and finished products.

Its first phase has created 3,000 immediate jobs, with direct employment projected to rise to 10,000 when the facility reaches full operational capacity.