Financing Circular Textile Infrastructure in Nigeria and ECOWAS: From Prohibition and Informality to Bankable Waste and Industrial Systems

Nigeria and the wider West African region face persistent challenges at the intersection of waste management, textile trade, and industrial development. Rapid urbanisation and rising consumption have increased textile waste volumes faster than existing infrastructure and financing systems can respond. At the same time, second-hand clothing trade plays a dual role, supporting affordability and livelihoods while generating environmental, fiscal, and municipal externalities that remain largely unmanaged. Existing policy responses, including import prohibitions, have underperformed by displacing rather than eliminating trade, resulting in continued informality, lost fiscal revenues, and ongoing pressure on urban services. This paper argues that these outcomes reflect a bankability and system-design failure rather than weak policy intent or technological constraints. The paper proposes a financeable framework for circular textile infrastructure based on regulated conditional market access, a textile stewardship fee, and blended finance. Revenues are ring-fenced to fund collection, sorting, repair, reuse, and compliant disposal infrastructure, complemented by municipal service contracts and limited commercial income. By aligning regulation with how trade actually occurs, the framework demonstrates how fiscal recovery, environmental protection, industrial upgrading, and social inclusion can be advanced simultaneously. The paper outlines a phased implementation pathway for Nigeria and replication across ECOWAS trade corridors, positioning the region as a potential leader in practical circular economy reform.