The New Force presidential candidate Nana Kwame Bediako, popularly known as Cheddar, has visited the Bonwire Kente weaving Centre in the Ashanti Region as part of his campaign tour for the December presidential elections promising to industrialize Kente production to ensure business growth.

Kente is a Ghanaian textile made of hand-woven strips of silk and cotton. Historically the fabric was worn in a toga-like fashion among the Asante, Akan and Ewe people.

According to Asante oral tradition, it originated from Bonwire in the Ashanti Region.

With time, some parts of Northern Ghana also produce another kind of Kente which is fast catching up too.

Speaking to the weavers at the Bonwire Kente weaving centre where he made a stop on his campaign tour, Nana Kwame Bediako, who was dressed in a beautiful Kente by the weavers, said he was particularly interested in improving how the rich fabric is produced in Ghana to make it more accessible on a commercial scale.

As part of his interaction with the Kente weavers, Nana Kwame Bediako commended the artistry and cultural significance of their craft.

He shared his vision for a future where industrialization supports and elevates their work, enabling larger-scale production.

With this plan, Nana Kwame Bediako envisions Bonwire kente reaching global markets and providing more jobs and prosperity to the community and the nation in general.

“The government hasn’t taken steps to improve what we have so each time competition beats us once products infiltrate our markets. But if we improve our products and promote them; there will be huge benefits to the people and the nation at large.”

For instance, with what you do here, if we’re able to industrialize how you produce the Kente, you can produce more so that we sell it on a commercial scale. We need to improve the standard of Kente weaving to make it more commercial” he noted.