A ground-breaking partnership between a South African woman-owned textile company, IVILI Group, and the first dedicated gender lens investing Private Equity Fund in Africa, Alitheia IDF, is set to positively contribute to South Africa’s ailing textile industry by increasing local manufacturing output, create jobs and rebuild the skills-base in the sector through a $5million investment.
IVILI Group is made up of IVILI Loboya, one of Africa’s only wool and cashmere processing facilities, which is based at Ibika Industries in Butterworth in the Eastern Cape, and IVILITEX, a garment manufacturing factory located at the heart of the clothing and textiles industry in Cape Town.
IVILI Loboya was co-founded by the highly respected South African social entrepreneur, gender activist and global director of the International Women’s Forum, the late Dr Vuyokazi Mahlati. IVILI Loboya is one of Africa’s only wool and cashmere processing facilities, which is based at Ibika Industries in Butterworth in the Eastern Cape. IVILITEX is a garment manufacturing factory located at the heart of the clothing and textiles industry in Cape Town.
On 21st September, IVILITEX opened its large-scale garment manufacturing plant in Epping, Cape Town where the initial production will consist of jeanswear for the local retailer market. The factory includes a jeans wash facility, with state-of-the-art technology imported from Spain, in partnership with Jeanologia, a leading manufacturer of innovative technologies for the textile industry. The factory will leverage technology that allows the production and washing of garments with optimum levels of output and efficiency while maintaining the lowest impact on the environment.
The goal of IVILITEX, is to close the gap between locally made and imported apparel in the South African garment production industry by providing a solution for local retailers who are increasingly looking for locally manufactured garments on a large scale. IVILITEX is critical for the Group’s growth plans and marks an important step towards integrating the value chain in the textiles sector of South Africa.
IVILI Group has set itself the target of building the business to be the leading textiles group in Africa while supporting local and the continent’s textiles companies in a centre of excellence that will serve South Africa and the rest of the continent, to restore Africa’s textiles capabilities and increase locally produced apparel for the local retail industry from the current 44% to 65% by 2030.