International Chamber of Commerce Ghana (ICC Ghana) together with. United Nation Development Program (UNDP) has held the maiden Africa Sustainable Supply Chain Summit in Accra, Ghana.
The two days event ( 29th and 30th, March 2023) held at the Kempinski Hotel in Accra was on the theme: "Sustainable Supply For Economic Growth In Africa".
The event was aimed at creating opportunities to examine how to pilot supply chain disruptions within the AfCFTA, Sustainable supply chain management, advanced technologies, process improvement, and automation should be rolled out and leveraged in Africa.
Again, the event served as an annual platform to exchange ideas and collaborate on the impact of market dynamics and new technologies for current and future supply chain and operations leaders.
Speaking at the opening ceremony today (29th March 2023), the UNDP Resident Representative in Ghana- Dr. Angela Lusigi said given the prevailing uncertainty from the ongoing economic, social, environmental, and climate-related shocks, there is a need to leverage technology and innovation in order to ‘future proof’ Africa’s supply chains.
She said growing more companies requires better supply chain governance and more investment by multiple actors.
It requires collaborative approaches to attract innovative and new forms of financing. For instance, how can we effectively harness resources from the diaspora to transform local logistics and supply chain systems on the continent?
As UNDP, we are invested in looking at both the opportunities and the risks involved in building sustainable regional supply chains. For instance, inadequate infrastructure, non-tariff barriers, political instability, the slow uptake of technology and the high cost of doing business can impact the efficiency and effectiveness of regional supply chains. At the same time, rapid changes in technology, digitalisation, and innovation could be game changer. This is why we believe that supplied by Africa should have a future focus.
According to Dr Angela Lusigi, the steps taken through the summit to develop strategic partnerships and enhance engagement with the private sector from different sectors will help us move in the right direction.
"By co-creating solutions through these multi-stakeholder platforms, we are helping to establish sustainable supply chains through collaboration, innovation, and knowledge sharing. Together we have the potential to significantly impact economic growth, job creation, and poverty reduction across Africa".
She commended ICC for organizing such an important event and pro firm their contribution to ‘building a more sustainable future through trade’ and looking forward to deepening their engagement with the private sector to accelerate SDG impact in Ghana and across Africa.
She emphasized that UNDP remains committed to working to strengthen the capacities and the ecosystem for MSMEs to leverage the AFCFTA. As well as continue to forge new partnerships to ensure that supply chains are sustainable and work to facilitate Made in Africa, Supplied by Africa, and Moved by Africa.
The Secretary General of ICC Ghana, Emmanuel Doni-Kwame noted in an interview that, the supply chain is key hence this summit because its impact has really disrupted a lot on the continent or globally and the cost of business went up as a result of Covid 19.
The outcome of this summit will be review and make sure the issues that come out are well addressed and implemented.
He stated that the summit will be an annual event to keep track of the progress being made on the continent as far as the supply chain is concerned.
Emmanuel Doni-Kwame is of the view that young entrepreneurs who can develop any technology that can facilitate trade should be encouraged especially on the continent.
He urged young entrepreneurs to be innovative and create things that are needed in the area of trade on the continent.
The event was well attended by stakeholders in the supply chain both in Ghana and the continent.
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