At Kyebi in the Eastern Region, a clothing and textile factory is opened with the goal of encouraging women and young girls to pursue careers in the sewing and fashion industries.
The first company of its kind in Kyebi, Lifestyle Textile and Garment Export Limited (Lifestyle), presently employs seventy people from the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Area.
With 100 sewing machines, the factory creates a variety of items including curtains and armrests in addition to T-shirts, children’s, women’s, and men’s clothing, and school uniforms.
The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development provided funding for the project as part of the German Development Agency’s (GIZ) “Invest For Jobs Programme.”
Lifestyle CEO Susana Mitchell called the factory opening a sign of their commitment to empowering women and promoting inclusivity. The factory, which started with 30 machines in 2020, now has nearly 100 and plans to add 300 more, aiming to employ 450 people by year-end.
Mitchell announced plans for a new, state-of-the-art factory in Asikam near Kyebi, with space for 2,000 sewing machines and jobs for almost 3,000 women in the Akyem Traditional Area. This project is a collaboration with the Okyenhene’s office, GIZ, and the Eastern Regional Tailors and Dressmakers Association.
She also mentioned plans to recruit graduates from the School of the Deaf, emphasizing that “disability is not inability,” and their goal is to provide job opportunities for marginalized individuals.
The CEO of Lifestyle Company establishing a plant in Kyebi, according to the Okyenhene, overwhelmed and fascinated him.
He claimed that the absence of opportunity in rural areas was the root of Africans’ persistent poverty issues.
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