In 2013, Swedish fast fashion retailer H&M forayed in Africa for sourcing, the first retailer to do so. Since then the brand has made it obvious that Africa is the place for them in the future. To test waters, Ethiopia was the country H&M started with a small operation, which is now its regional hub. Later, the company opened production in Kenya, and things are fine so far.

Hande Diltemiz, H&M Country Manager, during a panel on best practices for a sustainable African apparel value chain at the Africa Sourcing show in Ethiopia recently, said that they were excited to be in the continent and looking for more opportunities there. He added that they wanted to contribute to sustainable growth in Africa.

Stressing on the importance of setting up sustainably in the region from the start Diltemiz said H&M’s focus is on doing the right thing from the start, outlining best business practices for local manufacturers and suppliers, establishing good labour practices, securing environmental performance, and developing a sustainable cotton industry.

However, this cannot be compared to Asia and Ethiopia has its own challenges and they need to find out how to do things better there. H&M looks at sourcing form Africa as a long-term exercise and Diltemiz says that they were first ones and more buyers and investors would be coming to Africa in the future. She believes that in teh end, it will be a collective success.