From CNBC Africa

Multinational clothing companies have begun their exodus into Africa’s manufacturing space but this move has an undercurrent risk.

“I think we’re certainly entering into an era where Africa, certainly North Africa, starts to become more of a manufacturing hub. This is a very interesting development. Tesco [on Thursday] announced they’re going to expand their sourcing operations in Ethiopia, so they’re going to start making more clothes in the country, and this follows H&M, one of the biggest clothing companies in the world to also expanding their base in Ethiopia,” Dan McDougall, Sunday Times of London Africa correspondent, told CNBC Africa.

“This is generally perceived as a positive move – Africa starts manufacturing goods as opposed to importing goods particularly in the garment sector – but also comes with a lot of warning because we’ve obviously seen a lot of ethical issues in countries like Bangladesh and China, India and Pakistan in terms of textile manufacturing.”

Sub-Saharan Africa was once seen by a number of investors as a pure commodity play, but its rapid development has allowed the continent to become the next frontier market, with a number of untapped sectors.

Written by Wilhelmina Maboja/Read more at CNBC Africa