In 1953, W. Arthur Lewis presented a report entitled “Industrialization and the Gold Coast” to K.A. Gbedemah, Minster of Commerce and Industry. This paper presents a close reading of the report and puts it in the historical context of Ghana’s development, and in the context of thinking on industrial policy for developing countries. It assesses which of the insights were most relevant to Ghana at mid-Century, and which of them remain relevant even today as Ghanaian policy makers struggle with the realities of a resource dependent, non-diversified economy.