Lesotho: Increasing competitiveness and decent work in the T&C sector

Summary

The Expanding Enterprise Participation in the Textile and Clothing (T&C) Global Value Chain Project is a sub-component of the Lesotho Competitiveness and Financial Inclusion Project, funded by the World Bank. This project aims to enhance the competitiveness of Lesotho's T&C global value chain, aiding firms in recovering from the pandemic's impacts and capitalizing on new opportunities in global value chain reorganization. The primary objectives are to expand opportunities for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), improve productivity, and employment conditions.

The project is a collaborative effort between the Government of Lesotho, the International Labour Organization (ILO), and the International Trade Centre (ITC). It targets all active firms in Lesotho's T&C sector, particularly emphasizing Basotho companies, as the renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) in 2025 is uncertain.

The project offers tailored technical assistance packages covering pre-production support, production improvement, and post-production enhancement. It involves a 42-month international Technical Assistance phase, integrating the ILO's Sustaining Competitive and Responsible Enterprises (SCORE) program and the ITC's Global Textile and Clothing (GTEX) program. This will be followed by a 30-month national implementation phase, developed during the international TA phase.