Industrialising a nation calls for a horrendous task of strategising. It involves the determination of what the institutional arrangements and framework will look like in the economy. In most West African countries, the following have been or are being given serious consideration in coming out with strategies of industrialisation.
SECTORAL CONSIDERATION
This involves the determination of which sector of the economy to stimulate. Should the private sector be the engine of growth or the public sector be the engine of growth? Industries are encourage in the target sector.
IMPORT SUBSTITUTION
This strategy aims at encouraging domestic production. It aims at replacing import goods with locally produced goods. Many developing countries from Africa and Asia have adopted this strategy.
EXPORT PROMOTION
The strategy here stems from the consideration of whether to produce for export or not. The strategy encourages production of goods for exportation and the use of local raw materials in the production of such goods. Government employs the necessary means to make the achievement of its goals become reality.
SIZE OF FIRM
The government strategies on which scale of production or which sort of firm to encourage. It may choose to go for the small scale in realisation of limited resources. It may also choose to go for large scale in realisation of the fact that any attempt at recording a meaningful industrialisation is highly demanded. Usually, the two must exist side by side but emphasis is always place on one more than the other.
TECHNIQUE OF PRODUCTION
The different techniques of production also calls for consideration. These are capital intensive approach and labour intensive approach.
In the capital intensive approach, more of machine and less of labour are used in productive activities. In the labour intensive approach, more of labour and less of machines are used.