How supply chain industry can boost African economy — Experts

A Professor of Transport Planning and Policy at the Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, Samuel Odewunmi, has emphasised the importance of African countries strengthening their supply chain industry to boost the region’s economy and make it globally competitive.

He said effective management of supply chain industry in both public and private sectors is crucial as it could lead to reduction in costs of goods and services, improve efficiency and quality control, and also enhance customers’ satisfactions.

He said it is important that the continent got it right by removing the various stumbling blocks hampering the smooth flow of supply chain industry across the region.

According to him, poor logistics system has been identified as one of the strong barriers to supply chain industry in Africa and some other regions of the world.

He said that was why despite the huge human and material resources most of the African countries including Nigeria parade, they remain poor largely because they could not effectively manage their logistics infrastructure that could make goods and services not only quality, less expensive and adequate, but also timely available to meet consumers’ needs.

Professor Odewunmi shared this thought and perspectives at the just concluded 2025 Supply Chains Research Summit held in Lagos between July 16th to 18th.

The three-day summit, with a theme, “Reimagining Africa’s Supply Chains for Sustainable Future,” was organised by the Centre for Applied Research and Innovation in Supply Chain-Africa (CARISCA) for the academics, students, government policy makers and corporate organisations

No fewer than 200 individuals from across Nigeria, Ghana, United States, United Kingdom, Tanzania, France, Rwanda, and so forth participating.

Some state’s commissioners for health in Nigeria including from Ekiti, Rivers, Taraba, Kwara, Kogi, Benue, Niger and so forth, were also in attendance.

Referencing logistics infrastructure in Nigeria, Prof Odewunmi, who is a former Dean of School of Transport and Logistics at LASU, said it is almost every time the country and its people cite weak logistics as a strong factor contributing to the high costs of goods and services, their non-availability or delay in delivery to those who need them.

He said this problem transcends government and corporate sectors to affect also groups, families and individuals.

He said in terms of foreign trade, the situation becomes more cumbersome as weak structural and policy system, border inefficiency, poor warehousing, insecurity, corruption and bureaucratic customs delay, political instability and so forth often compound logistical problems.

“So, a lot of things need to be done to improve logistics infrastructure and sustain functional supply chains in Africa,” Odewunmi opined.

The don highlighted some areas of interventions that would be necessary and these include digitize customs system, partnership engagement, investment in security and training, among others.

He observed that it is unfortunate that only a few universities, especially in Nigeria including LASU, that are training students in transport and logistics studies.

Also speaking, Prof. Adegoke Oke, Chair of Supply Chain Management Department at Arizona State University, US, also pointed out how important the supply chain is to every day’s life.

He stated that was the basis upon which CARISCA was formed five years ago and has since then organizing various fora including annual summit where stakeholders brainstorm and share innovative ideas on the best ways for Africa to strengthen the supply chains system to meet international best practices.

He said, “We know that many people heard about supply chain during COVID 19, but supply chain has always been there as an important part of any organisation or operation be it in public or private sector.

“That is why without effective supply chains, we won’t be able to get the products or services we buy, especially at the right time without losing quality or value, meaning that supply chain is important in all aspects of our daily lives.”

While recalling that the initial focus of CARISCA was on agriculture and healthcare, the don, who is the co-founder of the organization, noted that this is the first time the summit would be held outside Ghana.

He said Nigeria and many other African countries would need to take their supply chains infrastructure more seriously so as to drive economic growth and development across sectors, including agriculture, healthcare, tourism, transportation and trade.

He pointed out that when cutting-edge research is done, for example, on supply chains, it is not only the government and corporate bodies that benefit but also families and individuals as final consumers.

In his own contribution, CARISCA Director and a Professor of International Marketing and Strategy at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana, Nathaniel Boso, highlighted why the summit was held in Nigeria this year.

According to him, Nigeria has a high degree of diversity of people and it’s also one of the biggest economies in Africa.

“So, we want to see how we can make health supplies more visible not only in Nigeria but across Africa such that every point that a pharmaceutical product travels in a health supply chain system, we can be able to track it such that if the government of Nigeria for example, orders certain vaccines that are supposed to be supplied to health unit across the country, we can see exactly where those health supplies are and in what quantity.”

He said Africa truly needs to revolutionalise its supply chains space to drive its economy to a greater height, adding that the time to do so is now.

Delivering a keynote speech at the event, the Ekiti State Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr Oyebanji Filani, who spoke on “Enhancing Quality and Expanding access: How pooled procurement purchasing by states can strengthen Nigeria’s healthcare delivery,” explained that it is not only availability of goods and services that matter in supply chains but also their quality, affordability and accessibility.

He noted that it is important for Nigeria at both national and sub-national levels to expanding the capacity of local drug manufacturers and the supply chain circles so as to make the healthcare delivery cost effective, functional, accessible and lifesaving.

He said that was why the role of the academia as well as private sector participants are important in this regard by coming up with innovative ideas that will turn theory into practice.

He noted that with right policy incentives, catalytic financing, and regulatory streamlining, local manufacturers could meet a significant share of national demand—reducing our import dependency and strengthening national health security in the country.

In her remarks, the vice-chancellor of LASU, Prof Ibilola Olatunji-Bello, represented by Prof Tunji Azeez, expressed delight that the summit was brought to Nigeria and with LASU as one of the key partners.

She said she was confident that the knowledge gained, and the high level of interractions and networking among participants would yield tremendous impact in supply chains space in Africa.