Actis-backed Nairobi Gate launches textile park
Actis-backed Nairobi Gate launches textile park
Nairobi Gate Industrial Park has launched a manufacturing and warehouse park for the textile and apparel industry.
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Nairobi Gate Industrial Park, the first special economic zone (SEZ) with a fully consolidated customs-control area in East Africa, has launched a one-of-a-kind manufacturing and warehouse park for the textile and apparel industry in Kenya.
The 100-acre Nairobi Gate Industrial Park is being developed by Impact North, a company formed by unlisted South African property investment group Improvon, and private equity investor Actis.
The 100,000m2 textile park will benefit tenants and create job opportunities in Kenya’s second-largest manufacturing industry after food processing.
Dean Shillaw, managing director at Impact North commented: “The cotton, textile, and apparel industry in Kenya is rapidly growing – and this has resulted in an increased demand for modern manufacturing and warehouse facilities to enhance efficiencies and productivity.
“Kenya is expected to become Africa’s textile and apparel hub. Nairobi Gate’s excellent location and SEZ status provide several financial and non-financial benefits for licensed tenants. With available land and capital, Nairobi Gate could be the first, and leading development in East Africa to offer a dedicated and sustainable textile park.” .
Shillaw believes that Kenya stands a good chance of capitalising on geo-political uncertainty in Ethiopia, traditionally a mainstay of international textile and apparel manufacturers because of the introduction of industrial parks in that country during the late-1990s.
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