Industrialisation in Africa: Challenges and Opportunities

Sub-Saharan Africa has experienced substantial growth and poverty reduction in the past two decades, yet as this process has not been based on industrialisation it is unlikely that it is sustainable in the longer term. Governments in Sub-Saharan Africa should consider structuralist industrial policies, yet these policies should avoid a top-down approach and rather rely on a structured and inclusive public-private dialogue. As mature light industries, such as textiles, can be good for mass employment, but allow little technological learning, reliance on a dual core of industries, that is labour-intensive industries alongside a smaller knowledge-intensive core, appears as the best developmental fit.