The Power of Collaboration: Resilience of the Apparel Industry in Ghana during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Cynthia Akua Chichi; Benjamin Kwablah Asinyo; Eunice Owusu-Antwi; Ebenezer Owusu-Addo; Benjamin Tawiah; Ebenezer Kofi Howard

doi:10.35738/ftr.v6.2025.18

Authors

Cynthia Akua Chichi Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2358-119X (unauthenticated)
Benjamin Kwablah Asinyo Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9208-2482 (unauthenticated)
Eunice Owusu-Antwi Author https://orcid.org/0009-0000-0836-3525 (unauthenticated)
Ebenezer Owusu-Addo Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1614-2965 (unauthenticated)
Benjamin Tawiah Author https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1756-8965 (unauthenticated)
Ebenezer Kofi Howard Author https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8282-3091 (unauthenticated)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35738/ftr.v6.2025.18

Keywords:

Apparel industry , collaboration, resilience, Ghana, COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the collaborative efforts that were utilised in the face of the global COVID-19 pandemic, where industries worldwide faced unparalleled challenges that disrupted standards and demanded rapid adjustment. This study examines how public-private collaboration enhanced operational resilience in Ghana's apparel industry during COVID-19 supply chain disruptions, using Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) production as a critical adaptive response.

Methodology/Design: This study employed a descriptive case study approach that analysed 38 semi-structured interviews across three enterprise tiers (5 T1, 7 T2, 26 T3) and 1 (one) representative from The Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry (MOTAI), supplemented by documentary analysis of production records and policy documents. This approach was used to examine the powerful collaboration between the apparel industry in Ghana. Data obtained was analysed using thematic analysis and themes related to products manufactured before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Collaboration, resilience strategies, and outcomes were identified and categorised based on the research objectives.

Findings: By examining these unique efforts of government, stakeholders, and organisations, this study highlights the power of collaborative proposals in mitigating the extraneous effects of the pandemic and moving the industry toward sustainable growth. The study reveals the strategies and partnerships that emerged, ultimately underscoring how collaboration stood as a pillar in navigating the unacquainted terrains of the pandemic. The crisis response generated $18.7M in domestic PPE contracts, preserving 86% of pre-pandemic employment levels through three key mechanisms: 1) cross-tier production associations, 2) government-backed raw material financing, and 3) workforce reskilling enterprises.

Practical and Social Implications: This study has implications for government intervention in policy-making and investment in the apparel industry in Ghana. If these are utilised, they will enhance the capacity for expansion through local sourcing from the Textile industry in Ghana, which will create more jobs and strengthen the local economy. Improvements will be seen in the supply chain and operations of companies in the industry, helping them penetrate the global market.

Originality: This study highlights the outstanding resilience of the industry, which also serves as evidence of the capacity collaborative efforts can play in ensuring a dynamic and adjustable business in the face of unparalleled situations like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Author Biographies

Cynthia Akua Chichi

Cynthia Akua Chichi (PhD) is a Lecturer in the Department of Industrial Art, KNUST and has served on various committees at different levels of the University community. She has a PhD in Fashion Design Technology, but before that she obtained a bachelor's degree in Industrial Art (Textiles) in 2006 and pursued further studies in Design Innovation in 2008, having served as a National Service Person in the same Department in 2007. She worked as a Research Assistant from 2010 to 2011 at Coventry University, UK. She returned home to work as an Assistant Lecturer in 2013 in the Textiles and Fashion Section of the Department of Industrial Art. Her specializations are Pattern and Garment Technology, Sustainable Fashion, and Printed Textile Design Applications.
Benjamin Kwablah Asinyo

Benjamin Kwablah Asinyo is an Associate Professor in the Department of Industrial Art, KNUST, Kumasi. He has been lecturing officially for over ten (10) years. He is a research fellow, designer, curriculum developer and lecturer. He instructs in Textiles, Curriculum Development, Research Methodology and Computer Applications in Design. His initiative is to encourage ICT application in higher education, and he has several articles to his credit.
Eunice Owusu-Antwi

Eunice Owusu-Antwi is a Lecturer at the Department of Industrial Art, KNUST. She obtained her first degree, B. A. Industrial Art, Textiles in 2008 and further obtained a Master of Technology Education in Textiles and Fashion Technology in 2016. Eunice is currently undertaking research in collaboration with the Bureau of Integrated Rural Development (BIRD), KNUST and affiliate partners such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), West Africa Analytical Support Services and Evaluations for Sustainable Systems in Agriculture, Environment and Trade (ASSESS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and The University of Rhode Island (URI).
Ebenezer Owusu-Addo

Ebenezer Owusu-Addo (PhD) is a Development/Health Planner and Evaluation Specialist currently employed as a Senior Research Fellow in the Bureau of Integrated Rural Development, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana. Ebenezer holds a PhD in Evaluation (Public Health/Health Promotion) from Monash University, Australia, an MSc in Public Health-Health Promotion from Leeds Beckett University, UK, a Graduate Certificate of Agricultural Health and Medicine from Deakin University, Australia, and a BSc. (Hons) in Planning from KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana. Ebenezer has 18 years of experience in the development and global health sectors. He has broad-based expertise in rural health, rural development, monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL), healthy public policies, realist evaluation and synthesis, systematic reviews, qualitative research, and mixed methods research. His research interests include agricultural health and safety, farmer health, the social determinants of health, cash transfer programmes, health equity, rural health systems, planetary health, and the interface between public health and town planning.
Benjamin Tawiah

Benjamin Tawiah (PhD) is a Lecturer in the Department of Industrial Art (Fashion and Textiles) at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). He holds a BA. Industrial Art (Textiles), KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana, Postgraduate Diploma in Management Information Systems, Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Accra, Ghana, Master of Engineering in Textile Engineering from Jiangnan University, China, and a Ph. D. in Textile and Clothing Technology from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. His research interests focus on sustainable polymer nanomaterial composites, textile colouration, and sustainable fashion.
Ebenezer Kofi Howard

Ebenezer Kofi Howard is a Professor of Textiles at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). He holds a BA. Industrial Art (Textiles Option), an MA in Art Education, an MFA in Textile Design and a PhD in Art Education. His research broadly focuses on the sustainable development of the textiles and apparel industry with specific reference to design thinking and innovation, eco-friendly production technologies, and the challenges and prospects of the textiles and fashion industries. Global textiles trade policies and trends, key indicators in today’s competitive global textiles and apparel markets, are his research's drivers.

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