Strategic Industrial Policy for Sustainable Development in Africa: The Case of Cement Manufacturing

The research paper examines the role of vertical industrial policies in Africa, contrasting them with horizontal policies and global value chain (GVC) theories. It highlights how Nigeria and Morocco successfully developed their cement sectors through targeted government interventions, while noting that replicating these specific tools in other sectors, such as sugar and tomato paste in Nigeria, has failed due to different raw material coordination needs.

• Vertical industrial policies, which target specific sectors, industries, or firms, are presented as more pertinent for African industrialisation than horizontal policies because they allow governments to set targets and develop competitive advantages in specific industries.
• The author argues that while joining global value chains (GVCs) is suitable for sectors like electronics or textiles, maintaining complete production chains is necessary for value retention in other sectors, especially where upgrading depends on the discretion of lead firms.
• Nigeria's vertical industrial policy for cement, implemented in 2002, used import license restrictions and quotas to force domestic production, resulting in domestic output increasing from 2.07 million tons (MT) in 2002 to 22.25 MT in 2014.
• Dangote Cement emerged as a regional leader following Nigeria's policy, reaching a total African production capacity of 51.6 MTa by 2022 and revenues exceeding US$3.5 billion.
• Morocco's Ciments de l'Atlas (CIMAT) utilized a strategy of direct backward integration and government procurement, leveraging a US$1 billion state contract for public housing in 2005 to enter cement production.
• Attempts to replicate the cement industry's policy model in Nigeria's sugar and tomato paste sectors failed because those industries face unique coordination challenges regarding raw materials that cement (limestone) does not.
• Africa has faced significant environmental and demographic pressures, including a sixfold population increase since the 1960s and the loss of two-thirds of its productive land.

APA

Odijie, M. E. (2024). Strategic Industrial Policy for Sustainable Development in Africa: The Case of Cement Manufacturing. Africa Policy Research Institute. https://afripoli.org/strategic-industrial-policy-for-sustainable-development-in-africa-the-case-of-cement-manufacturing

Chicago

Odijie, Michael Ehis. Strategic Industrial Policy for Sustainable Development in Africa: The Case of Cement Manufacturing. Africa Policy Research Institute, 2024. https://afripoli.org/strategic-industrial-policy-for-sustainable-development-in-africa-the-case-of-cement-manufacturing.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Odijie |first1=Michael Ehis |title=Strategic Industrial Policy for Sustainable Development in Africa: The Case of Cement Manufacturing |publisher=Africa Policy Research Institute |date=6 August 2024 |url=https://afripoli.org/strategic-industrial-policy-for-sustainable-development-in-africa-the-case-of-cement-manufacturing |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{odijie2024strategic, author = {Odijie, Michael Ehis}, title = {{Strategic Industrial Policy for Sustainable Development in Africa: The Case of Cement Manufacturing}}, institution = {Africa Policy Research Institute}, year = {2024}, month = aug, url = {https://afripoli.org/strategic-industrial-policy-for-sustainable-development-in-africa-the-case-of-cement-manufacturing}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }