Concept Note

Context: Global Leather Sector and Africa’s Opportunity

The global leather–footwear economy remains large, resilient, and design-driven, anchored by demand from fashion, automotive, furniture, and speciality goods. In recent years, global footwear output has hovered around 24 billion pairs, with Asia producing close to 90%, underscoring the scope for regional diversification and near-shoring. At the same time, the industry is being reshaped by sustainability requirements, due diligence regulations, traceability expectations, and consumer shifts toward quality, durability, and reparability. These forces are creating space for new production locations that can meet standards, respond quickly to market signals, and integrate digitally with buyers.

Africa is poised for significant growth, starting from a position of inherent strength and under-realised potential. The continent's large livestock base concentrated in East and Southern Africa provides a strong raw-material platform, while a young workforce and urbanising consumer markets promise growing domestic demand. Yet much value still leaks out through weak collection and curing systems, quality losses, and the export of low-value stages (raw or wet-blue) instead of finished leather and branded goods. Per-capita footwear consumption remains low compared to other regions, pointing to substantial headroom for local production, formal retail, and regional brands that retain value and create jobs at home.

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) offers the missing market architecture to change this trajectory. A single market of 1.3 billion people and over US$3.4 trillion in GDP can enable regional value chains, harmonised standards, and investment scale precisely where leather excels. Cross-border processing and trade corridors can link hides and skins, tanning, finishing, components, and assembly across countries; interoperable payments and trade-facilitation measures can reduce friction; and green-finance and compliance initiatives can help firms meet global ESG and traceability benchmarks. Together, these levers can shift Africa from a raw-material supplier to a producer of competitive, sustainable leather products for intra-African and international markets.

Against this backdrop, the Africa Leather Value Chain Annual Forum convenes public and private leaders to turn potential into implementable action. The programme focuses on four enablers: (i) standards, sustainability, and traceability to unlock market access; (ii) financing instruments and risk-sharing to crowd in investment; (iii) distribution, retail, and digital channels to reach consumers; and (iv) stronger private-sector associations and skills systems to deliver at scale. The Forum is designed to generate consensus resolutions, a practical 2026 implementation roadmap, and an investable pipeline laying the groundwork for value addition, quality jobs (especially for youth and women), and expanding intra-African trade under AfCFTA.

Beyond the conference deliberations, the Africa Leather and Leather Products Forum will feature a vibrant exhibition of over 40 enterprises from more than 15 African countries, showcasing a rich variety of leather products, footwear, garments, and accessories that reflect Africa's craftsmanship, innovation, and sustainable design. The Forum will also host a dynamic Deal-Making Platform that enables Business-to-Business (B2B) and Business-to-Finance (B2F) engagements among SMEs, investors, and financial institutions, facilitating trade, investment, and partnership opportunities across the continent.

A major attraction will be the Real Leather. Stay Different. Africa Award Showcase, featuring 15 outstanding finalists selected from 149 designers across Africa, who will present their creations in a fashion experience that celebrates African creativity, sustainability, and contemporary design excellence.

Adding a unique dimension to the event, an Open Bazaar will be organised to allow staff from over 21 embassies based in Lusaka, the COMESA Secretariat, and Forum participants to purchase the showcased products directly from exhibiting enterprises. This bazaar, a novel feature of the event, will create an immediate market linkage between producers and buyers, translating the Forum's vision into real trade opportunities and tangible economic impact for African leather entrepreneurs.

Specific Objectives of the Forum

• Develop the Business Ecosystem of Stakeholders to support the Growth and Performance of the Leather Value Chain in Africa in the Context of the AfCFTA.
• Structure Partnerships to Improve Access to Finance, Product Design and Development, Distributorship and Sustainability, fostering a sense of unity and shared goals.
• Enhance intra-REC collaboration in the Context of the African Continental Free Trade Area, recognising the crucial role of each participant in the collective success.
• Facilitate B2F and B2B Meetings, with a Focus on the Role of Financial Institutions, to Strengthen the Leather Value Chain in Africa.

Expected Outputs

• A Continental Leather Business Ecosystem Framework is developed and endorsed, providing a structured roadmap for strengthening stakeholder linkages, policy coordination, and market integration across Africa's leather value chain under the AfCFTA. Defining the roles of governments, the private sector, and support institutions will drive industrialisation, competitiveness, and trade facilitation, thereby creating a more robust and sustainable leather sector in Africa.
• A Strategic Partnership and Financing Framework was established between ALLPI, financial institutions, and private sector actors, promoting access to finance for SMEs and clusters, advancing product design and innovation, and embedding sustainability principles (including traceability, circular economy, and EUDR compliance) into Africa's leather sector.
• The non-binding Inter-REC Collaboration Mechanism, agreed upon and operationalised, is a significant step towards harmonising standards, facilitating cross-border trade, and promoting coordinated industrial development among COMESA, EAC, SADC, and other RECs. This positions the African leather sector as a unified, competitive bloc under the AfCFTA, providing reassurance about its future. The B2B and B2F Engagement Platform, successfully hosted during the Forum, has the potential to significantly impact the African leather sector. It enabled direct matchmaking between financial institutions and SMEs, as well as between tanners and leather product manufacturers. The session yielded preliminary financing commitments, partnership leads, and trade linkages, offering hope for the sector's future.

Scope of the Forum

The 18^th Africa Leather Value Chain Annual Forum 2025 is focused on enhancing the Africa Leather Value Chain. The program covers the following key topics:

• Unlocking the African Leather Value Chain under AfCFTA
• Intra-regional collaboration
• Access to finance and enhance the use of Africa’s payment systems
• Compliance with International Standards to enhance Market Access
• Lessons from Africa and beyond
• Strengthening BSO and Leather Sector Associations Governance and Performance
• B2B and B2F
• Launch of ALLPI's New Brand and its 5-Year Institutional Strategy

Target Audience

• Policy Makers
• Private Sector
• Development Partners
• Finance Institutions
• Distributors
• Designers
• Academia
• Media

Overall, Forum Deliverables

• Africa Leather Forum 2025 Communiqué summarising validated frameworks, partnership commitments, and policy recommendations.
• Action and Partnership Matrix with designated responsibilities, timelines, and follow-up mechanisms.
• Documentation of B2B and B2F Outcomes, including investment leads, partnership MOUs, and SME-financier match records.

Policy Briefs and Knowledge Products capturing insights for integration into regional and continental strategies.