Global and regional value chains in sub-Saharan Africa: governance of social standards

Global value chains (GVC) have become an important channel for export production in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). GVC enable retailers and brands in the global North to source directly from suppliers rather than operate through remote intermediaries. Lead firms coordinate and control their suppliers through private governance, requiring compliance with private standards covering product specifications and often social standards on workers’ rights and conditions. Expansion of South-South trade is associated with the rise of regional and domestic value chains (RVC/DVC) within the global South. Until recently, this trend within SSA has received limited attention. Some African and global retailers are leading expansion of RVC/DVC within SSA. African producers can now sell into diverse GVC, RVC and DVC. This chapter explores the extent to which private product and social standards apply across different value chains within SSA, with a focus on agri-food and garments retailers in South Africa and Kenya. It concludes that in comparison to GVC, in RVC/DVC some product standards apply, but social standards play a limited role except where sourcing overlaps with a GVC. It briefly considers the role public governance of value chains could play, through regulation by African governments, in enhancing product quality and promoting decent work across value chains in SSA.