The Made in Africa Framework as a Catalyst for Implementing the AfCFTA

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has introduced unprecedented opportunities for the African textile and leather goods industries to emerge as globally competitive sectors. Central to this aspiration is the Made in Africa (MiA) Criteria — a comprehensive regulatory framework designed to harmonize standards, certify product origin, and protect the integrity of African-made goods. This article provides an in-depth analysis of the MiA Criteria’s governance, conformity assessment, rules of origin (RoO), and intellectual property frameworks as they pertain specifically to textiles and leather goods, essential components of Africa’s fashion economy.

Harmonisation of Standards for Textiles and Leather Goods

The MiA Criteria mandate harmonisation of standards through bodies such as the African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO) and the Electrotechnical Standardisation Commission (AFSEC). This standardisation is particularly critical for textiles and leather, industries traditionally plagued by fragmented regulatory environments across African countries. For instance, quality infrastructure related to textile durability, dye safety, leather tanning processes, and chemical use must meet uniform regional standards to facilitate seamless trade.

Textiles and leather products are subject to stringent requirements to ensure compliance with consumer safety, environmental sustainability, and export readiness. ARSO’s African Standards Harmonisation Model (ASHAM) promotes alignment with international benchmarks, such as ISO textile testing methods and leather quality certifications. This ensures that African manufacturers can meet the expectations of global markets while fostering trust among domestic consumers.

Conformity Assessment: Safeguarding Quality and Market Access

The African Conformity Assessment Programme (ACAP), coordinated by ARSO, plays a pivotal role in validating compliance with MiA standards. For textiles and leather goods, this includes rigorous testing for physical properties, chemical residues, and manufacturing processes. Certification bodies accredited under ACAP conduct audits and product testing, facilitating mutual recognition of conformity assessment results among AfCFTA State Parties.

This approach addresses a common barrier for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the textile and leather sectors — the high cost and complexity of certification. The MiA framework incorporates a maturity model that allows incremental compliance, helping emerging producers progress toward full certification while gaining market recognition at earlier stages. Such graduated certification is essential to encourage local businesses to scale without being excluded by prohibitive regulatory costs.

Rules of Origin: Enabling Value Addition and Preference Utilisation

Rules of Origin (RoO) are arguably the most consequential element of the MiA Criteria for textiles and leather products. These rules define the extent of value addition required for products to qualify as Made in Africa and thus benefit from preferential tariffs under the AfCFTA.

Textiles and leather sectors depend heavily on complex supply chains involving raw materials, intermediate inputs, and finished goods. The RoO in the MiA Criteria promote local content requirements, ensuring that a significant portion of production, such as yarn spinning, fabric weaving, tanning, or shoe assembly, occurs within the continent. This is critical to avoid mere assembly or rebranding of imported inputs, a practice that would undermine the developmental objectives of AfCFTA.

Furthermore, the RoO are designed to be clear, transparent, and trade-facilitating. For textiles and leather goods, this means specifying thresholds for local input value, permissible processing operations, and transformation criteria. These standards prevent trade deflection, where goods from non-African countries enter duty-free markets by minimally passing through an AfCFTA member. The MiA Criteria balance this with the need to allow flexibility for nascent industries reliant on some imported inputs.

Intellectual Property and Brand Protection

Intellectual property (IP) rights form another vital pillar supporting textiles and leather goods under the MiA Criteria. Protection of African traditional knowledge, indigenous designs, and geographical indications is enshrined within the framework to prevent cultural misappropriation and unfair competition. This is especially relevant for leather goods crafted using traditional methods or textiles featuring culturally significant patterns.

The MiA Coordination Unit, housed within the African Union Commission’s Department of Trade and Industry, ensures the enforcement of IP rights in conjunction with other stakeholders. The use of the MiA logo, administered by ARSO, also functions as a certification mark that signals authenticity and origin, deterring counterfeit products that frequently plague these sectors.

Governance and Enforcement: Coordinating Continental Standards

The establishment of a central coordination unit within the African Union Commission ensures that all aspects, from rules of origin and quality infrastructure to IP and SPS measures, are harmonized and enforced uniformly. This coordination is crucial for textiles and leather goods producers who often face overlapping national regulations that increase costs and reduce competitiveness.

The MiA Criteria require annual reporting on compliance, dispute resolution, and challenges encountered, promoting transparency and continuous improvement. The unit’s oversight of logo usage guarantees that only goods meeting the stringent criteria bear the MiA logo, reinforcing consumer trust and boosting the profile of African-made textiles and leather products internationally.

Use and Traceability of the Made in Africa Logo

For textiles and leather goods, the MiA logo is more than a mark of origin; it is a quality assurance instrument. The requirement that the logo be electronically traceable, visibly placed on packaging or product tags, and removable upon non-compliance reflects a sophisticated approach to brand protection. This traceability supports anti-counterfeiting efforts and aligns with global trends in supply chain transparency, increasingly demanded by consumers and regulators.

Conclusion

The Made in Africa Criteria establish a robust legal and regulatory framework that is uniquely tailored to the complexities of Africa’s textile and leather goods sectors. By harmonizing standards, facilitating conformity assessments, defining clear rules of origin, protecting intellectual property, and enforcing logo use, the MiA framework is poised to catalyse intra-African trade and industrial growth.

For fashion law scholars and practitioners, these developments offer fertile ground for engagement. The MiA Criteria intersect critically with issues of trade policy, consumer protection, cultural heritage, and sustainable development. The challenge moving forward will be ensuring that these ambitious standards translate into tangible benefits for African manufacturers, artisans, and consumers thereby enabling the continent to carve out a distinctive and respected presence in the global fashion industry.