More than 900 people from 51 countries have registered to attend the summit, either in person or virtually. The theme of this year’s conference is “Africa’s Supply Chains and the Future of Work.”

Approximately 90 supply chain students, scholars, practitioners and policymakers will present research papers in five tracks over three days. The conference also will feature four keynote speakers, a journal editors panel, a PhD Dissertation Awards competition, a women’s panel, remarks from Ghana’s Minister of Health and much more.

The summit is central to CARISCA’s goal to put Africa’s supply chain research on the map and strengthen African supply chain capacity. We achieve this by bringing together academic and non-academic researchers and public, private and civil society organizations to create an ongoing dialogue addressing complex supply chain challenges in Africa.

“The CARISCA Research Summit is a great experience for attendees who gather every June to talk with leading scholars about research and where the field is headed,” says Dale Rogers, CARISCA executive director and ON Semiconductor Professor of Business at Arizona State University. “Plus, it’s fun.”

Keynote speakers for the conference include Daniel McKorley, founder and executive chairman of the McDan Group of Companies; Hau L. Lee, a professor of operations, information and technology at Stanford University; Gayani de Alwis, the global chairperson of Women in Logistics & Transport (WiLAT); and Lebogang Letsoalo, founder and CEO of Sincpoint.

Ghana Health Minister Kwaku Agyeman Manu has accepted an invitation to speak at the conference dinner on June 21. He will address the topic “Creating Opportunities in Ghana’s Health Sector Through Supply Chain.”

Speakers to be featured at lunch are Tom Maher, a senior vice president at Dell; Patrick Afari, a general manager for MTN Ghana; and Jeanne de Crepy, supply chain project manager for the United Nations World Food Programme.

Other highlights of the conference include:

• A panel discussion on Empowering Women for Inclusive Growth and Sustainability;
• A panel on Publishing in Top Journals in Operations and Supply Chain Management;
• A session on the Ghana Logistics Managers Index and a sneak peak at the second quarter 2023 results;
• Presentations on projects being developed in the Innovation Lab, an entrepreneurial training hub and innovation incubator at KNUST;
• A PhD Dissertation Awards Competition, which showcases the best logistics and supply chain management PhD research projects being carried out in African higher education institutions.

“CARISCA and the Supply Chain Research Summit have been able to get the world to appreciate the importance of Africa in a global supply chain system,” says Nathaniel Boso, director of CARISCA and dean of the School of Business at KNUST. “This year in Accra, at the heart of Ghana, we will be having conversations around what are the key set of skills that people need to be able to succeed in the supply chain system of the future.”

CARISCA is a partnership between Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and Arizona State University, with support from the United States Agency for International Development. The CARISCA center at KNUST aspires to become a globally recognized, locally owned hub for generating and translating innovative research into positive development outcomes for Ghana and pan-African supply chains, driving country self-reliance.

In-person registration for the summit is at capacity, but all sessions are open to virtual attendees, at no cost. Learn more and register at https://apo-opa.info/3pblkrS