IFC Announces $15 Million Financing for Togo's Apparel Manufacturing Center

The cut-make-trim factory will cut, assemble, and finish various clothing items and will be built in the Plateforme Industrielle d'Adétikopé, an industrial park on the outskirts of Lomé.

To boost textile and apparel manufacturing in Togo, IFC has announced a $15 million financing package for Star Garments Group Limited. This funding will help build Togo's first large-scale, export-focused apparel manufacturing center, creating thousands of local jobs.

The $15 million loan will enable Star Garments, a leading Sri Lankan apparel manufacturer and subsidiary of U.S.-based Charles Komar & Sons, to construct a greenfield clothing factory in Togo. The factory is expected to create 4,520 direct and indirect jobs, with a focus on employing women, and will significantly enhance export-oriented value addition by 2030. This investment marks Charles Komar & Sons and Star Garments' first venture into Africa.

The cut-make-trim factory will cut, assemble, and finish various clothing items and will be built in the Plateforme Industrielle d'Adétikopé, an industrial park on the outskirts of Lomé. The park aims to establish high-value-added industrial chains in agro-industrial sectors such as cotton, soy, sesame, and cocoa.

The factory will adhere to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standard, an environmentally oriented building certification program focused on improving building performance across several environmental and human health areas.

IFC's loan comprises a $7.5 million loan from its own account and a $7.5 million loan supported by the International Development Association Private Sector Window Blended Finance Facility.

"We are excited at the prospect of diversifying our manufacturing base. Our facility in Togo will present a cost-competitive alternative to our customer base and help propel our growth from a Sri Lankan company to a global company," said A. Sukumaran, Managing Director of Star Garments Group. "We also see Togo and West Africa as an ideal destination to present our customers with a farm-to-product storyline that few global destinations can offer."

"Star Garments is a pivotal part of Komar's future growth, and we see Star Garments' expansion into Africa as the next step in its journey. We are excited to be part of the boom in West African manufacturing in the coming future," added Charlie Komar, President and CEO of Charles Komar & Sons, Star Garments' parent company.

"West Africa holds the potential to be a textile and apparel powerhouse given its substantial workforce, availability of cotton, and proximity to the largest apparel demand centers in the United States and Europe," said Josiane Kwenda, IFC Country Manager for Togo. "IFC is proud to support Star Garments to help support job creation, drive exports, and spur higher-value manufacturing for Togo."

West Africa's textile and apparel sector remains largely underdeveloped but holds significant growth potential. The region boasts a large and young workforce and has been improving conditions for the textiles and garments industry by building ports and establishing special economic zones, which are proving to be a viable model for developing domestic manufacturing.

This project stems from IFC's Cotton-to-Textiles Value Chain Study in West Africa, which focused on developing manufacturing capabilities and building an integrated regional textiles value chain across multiple countries in the region.

IFC's strategic priorities for Togo include supporting agriculture, transport, logistics, access to finance, energy, digital infrastructure, housing, and health. As of June 2024, IFC had an active investment portfolio of $131 million in Togo, supporting these key sectors.