Globalization is changing the environment in which poverty reduction strategies are being implemented. In this new
context, two things are clear: poverty alleviation cannot be sustained without economic growth; and economic growth
cannot be sustained in non-competitive industries. ACDI/VOCA’s value chain approach focuses on industries employing
large numbers of the poor and with the potential to become and remain competitive in global markets. This approach
therefore has relevance in a wide array of programs for which poverty reduction and/or wealth creation is either the
ends or the means.