MANUFACTURING OF ECO-FRIENDLY TEXTILES: A CASE ANALYSIS OF AN INDUSTRIAL PARK IN MEKELLE (ETHIOPIA)

Abstract

ABSTRACT For the last ten years, Ethiopia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has grown at the rate of 10% per annum. On the other hand, the manufacturing goods have been growing at the rate of a single digit per year. To overcome the abysmal growth in manufactured products, with the assistance of the China Civil Engineering Construction, starting 2014, Ethiopia has been introducing industrial parks in specific areas and is actively soliciting foreign investors to establish textile and garment manufacturing enterprises. Government officials are very optimistic that the industrial parks established in Ethiopia not only rekindle the country’s manufacturing enterprise but also enhance Ethiopia to be Africa’s fashion hub. More particularly, the Mekelle Industrial Park that was established in 2017 is expected to be a formidable regional center for textile and garments manufacturing in the Northern part of Ethiopia. However, instead of encouraging each park to develop its separate mission, vision and value statements based on the shared agreement of its major stakeholders, all industrial Parks have been instructed to follow the aggregate mission and the vision statements established by the Ethiopian Industrial Parks Development Corporation (IPDC). In addition, the value statements of the country’s industrial park systems don’t seem to be described clearly in behavioral terms, and the strategic paths (i.e., resource priorities, organization structure, issues that need daily organizational attention) are vaguely articulated. As wished, if the Mekelle Industrial Park is expected to be the world’s best sustainable textile enterprise, it ought to be driven by innovative and cradle to cradle production system. That is, to become one of the leading eco-industrial park operator in Tigrai region by 2025, the vision of the Mekelle Industrial Park needs to include a core ideology and incorporate a clear picture of what the organization will accomplish in the future. The mission statements of the Park need to be accomplishable, specific (clearly stated), measures what it claims to measure, attainable and add values. Finally, the core values or boundaries within which the Mekelle Industrial Park will operate in pursuit of its vision need to adhere to: 1) global thinking, 2) respond quickly to changes in customer requirements, 3) keeping quick delivery requirements, 4) striving to exceed expectation, 5) be fair, empower and inspire its employees to perform beyond their best, 6) creating environmental sustainability, and 7) playing key role in social corporate and community responsibilities. Keywords textile, analysis, Ethiopia