ABSTRACT
This chapter picks up from the key argument made in Chapter 1 that the colonial economy in Africa was primarily constructed to benefit people outside of Africa. Therefore, for African economies to benefit the majority of Africans, the colonial economy has to be transformed. The chapter makes a case for a special type of industrial policy, the FIP, to be used as an instrument in the process of transforming the colonial economy in Africa. Given the structure of global manufacturing production and trade today, the chapter demonstrates that it is not just any type of industrial policy that can transform the colonial economy in Africa; transforming the colonial economy in Africa will require a unique IP, which has been referred to here as the FIP. The chapter shows how the regional approach to industrial growth is a core component of the FIP in Africa today. Using current trade data, the chapter shows that there is potential for African countries to domesticate some of the activities in global value chains at the regional level. The chapter illustrates that the prospects of industrialising are higher through a regional strategy than an individual country strategy.
