Matthias Knappe has over 25 years of diversified professional experience in international trade and development. He has worked at the enterprise, institutional and governmental levels. Matthias is presently leading the fibres, textiles and clothing programme of the International Trade Centre. Over the last 15 years, he has been working with the T&C sector around the world to increase its export competitiveness. Understanding the needs of the market, he designed ITC’s Global Textiles and Clothing programme and created the ITC African Cotton Development Initiative. He holds two master’s degrees, in economics and development economics.