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To accelerate their industrialisation in the face of tough global competition, West African countries must leverage their comparative and competitive advantages. Several strategies are available to them. The first is integration into global value chains, by initially developing low added value and labour intensive activities before gradually moving upmarket in the value chain. A second strategy is based on the transformation of local products, such as mango, shea, cashew and textiles. A third strategy is that of regional value chains, which focuses on local production of goods for regional markets. Read on