Despite some recent signs of resurgence, the manufacturing sector in Africa had stagnated and has been performing poorly, lagging all other regions of the world—a trend reflecting several factors and a weak competitiveness. The share of manufacturing value added in Growth Domestic Product (GDP) declined from 16% in 1980 to less than 10% in 2016 in Africa. Similarly, Africa's global share of manufacturing value added declined from 1.6% to 0.7% in the same period. The low performance has been attributed to a range of factors including high cost of doing business, unstable political and regulatory environment, lack of long-term policy clarity, lack of infrastructure and undue dependence on natural resources as a source of growth.
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Publication reference
Njuguna Ndung'u, Abebe Shimeles, Dianah Ngui, The Old Tale of the Manufacturing Sector in Africa: The Story Should Change, Journal of African Economies, Volume 31, Issue Supplement_1, September 2022, Pages i3–i9, https://doi.org/10.1093/jae/ejac016