Africa: A Senegalese Factory Proves Africa Can Spin Its Own Cotton - Can It Find the Money to Keep Going?

What the report says

AllAfrica reports that Domitexka Saloum, a cotton-spinning mill in Kaolack, Senegal, has restarted production and is being presented by its managers as evidence that more of Africa’s cotton can be processed locally. The mill, owned by Serigne Mboup of Groupe CCBM, is led operationally by general administrator Mass Thiam, who is trying to move the business from relaunch to expansion.

The central challenge, according to the report, is financing. Senegal processes only a small share of its cotton crop before export, while much of the value is captured later in yarn, fabric and clothing. Domitexka says textile manufacturing requires long repayment periods because machinery, training, scale-up and export contracts take years to deliver returns. Thiam argues that African manufacturers often face short bank maturities, high interest costs and collateral demands that do not match industrial timelines.

The company has already received a €5.7 million grant from KfW, Germany’s development bank, through the Invest for Employment initiative, which helped restart operations. It has also built a partnership with Aïssa Dione Tissus and is in discussions with the International Finance Corporation over a possible next stage. Domitexka’s stated goal is to raise about €50 million over 10 years to modernize equipment, add production lines, improve productivity and meet buyer requirements on traceability.

The case matters beyond one factory because West Africa produces significant cotton but exports much of it raw. AllAfrica frames Domitexka’s situation as part of a wider industrial question: whether African textile firms can secure patient capital to keep more value, jobs and manufacturing capacity on the continent.