The commissioning of the North Shore Apparel Hub in Savelugu highlights Ghana Exim Bank’s push to direct development finance toward export-oriented manufacturing, with the state-backed lender saying the project is central to its strategy for expanding garments production and foreign-exchange earnings.
Ghana Exim Bank Chief Executive Officer Sylvester Adinam Mensah said the bank’s partnership with North Shore Apparel forms part of its five-year strategic plan, which identifies garments and apparel manufacturing as a key driver of economic transformation.
The facility was financed through a blended model combining Ghana Exim Bank funding, support from KfW Development Bank’s Investing for Employment facility and equity from the project promoters, Mensah said at the commissioning ceremony.
“Through a blended finance model that combines Ex-Im’s support, the IFE facility of KfW Development Bank of Germany, and the equity of the project promoters, we have mobilized mission-aligned capital to accelerate industrial transformation and export competitiveness,” Mensah said.
The project marks a shift in Ghana’s industrial-development strategy toward financing indigenous companies capable of producing for export markets, according to Mensah. The bank formalized its partnership with North Shore Apparel in March through a memorandum of understanding aimed at expanding domestic garment production, creating jobs and strengthening Ghana’s position in the global apparel market.
North Shore’s location in Savelugu, in northern Ghana, also gives the project a regional-development dimension, as the government seeks to spread industrial activity beyond the country’s traditional commercial and manufacturing centers.
Mensah said the economic impact of the facility will extend beyond direct factory employment through demand for food services, accommodation, maintenance, packaging, logistics and other supporting businesses.
“The worker earns income, supports the family, and contributes to the local economy. The worker also pays taxes, contributes to social security, and helps produce garments that can earn foreign exchange for Ghana,” he said.
The factory includes a 500-kilowatt solar-power installation, according to Mensah, underscoring the project’s use of renewable energy as part of its production infrastructure.
For Ghana Exim Bank, the project is also a test of its mandate to channel scarce development capital toward enterprises with measurable economic impact. Mensah said the bank has “reset and redefined its lending scope” in line with President John Dramani Mahama’s economic agenda.
“It does not lend based on sentiments. Behind every facility we extend is places scarce resources where their impact can be significant,” Mensah said.
The bank sees apparel manufacturing as particularly important because it can combine domestic production, job creation and export earnings. Mensah said North Shore will be positioned to sell Ghana-made garments beyond the domestic market through the African Growth and Opportunity Act and other trade arrangements.
“This is more than a factory. It is a powerful statement of what Ghana can achieve when local capital is invested in local enterprise,” he said.
The North Shore Apparel Hub is expected to generate wider economic activity through its supply and distribution networks, while providing a platform for Ghanaian-owned manufacturing to compete in international markets.
Mensah described the facility as evidence that indigenous businesses can undertake large-scale industrial investments with support from development-finance institutions and international partners.
“The North Shore Apparel Hub is proof that wholly Ghanaian-owned businesses can undertake large-scale industrial projects capable of competing on the global stage,” he said.
