Global value chain linkages exhibited by high income nations, emerging market nations and the African countries are examined.It is noted that the upper income countries have more global supply chain linkages, which tend to be more of the backward linkagetype, being more active in the downstream part of the production processes. African nations have lower total and backward globalvalue chain linkages, and they are more upstream in production processes, exporting intermediate goods that are used for exportsproduction by trading partners. Examining the regional aspects of global supply chain linkages, it is noted that the EuropeanUnion countries have more global value chain linkages within themselves, thus substantiating the rationale for forming a unionamong themselves. The East and Southeast Asian group of countries have greatest global value chain linkages within the group,while African nations have low global value chain linkages among themselves. This observation raises the question whether theattempts to form monetary unions in Africa have followed the customary sequence of trade liberalization and expansion prior tomonetary integration.