The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of exchange rate volatility on global value chain participation within a panel of 25 African countries. The main result reveals that there is an adverse effect. When exchange rate volatility interacts with activities in upstreamness, we notice that the impact on GVC participation is significantly positive unlike the association between exchange rate fluctuation and sectors in downstreamness. The paper sheds some light on the role played by the currency union to promote trade in value-added. It is clearly shown that African countries which are non-members of a currency union have better performance in global value chain participation. These findings may enable, on the one hand, authorities in charge of monetary policy to implement strategies of mitigating this harmful impact on trade in value-added. On the other hand, it is worthwhile to in-depth the understanding of factors likely to distort trade performance within States members of a currency union particularly in the context of cross-border production-sharing activities.