Business leaders and supply chain experts will gather at the Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City in Accra, Ghana, July 29-30 for the inaugural Supply Chain Business Forum and Exhibition (https://apo-opa.co/3RGjSJc). Organized by the Center for Applied Research and Innovation in Supply Chain - Africa (CARISCA) (CARISCABusinessForum.com), the event aims to enhance supply chain management practices across the continent.

The Business Forum will feature prominent African, European and U.S. entrepreneurs and business executives as keynote speakers, panelists and session leaders. The forum’s theme will be “Navigating the Future of Supply Chains in Africa.”

Keynote speakers include:

• Ruby Amegah, a native Ghanaian and executive at Starbucks, USA, who will discuss the journey of coffee and cocoa beans from African soil to global cup.
• Dr. Chibuzo Opara, co-founder and CEO of DrugStoc, Nigeria, who will share insights on building patient-centered supply chains for health commodity security and resilience.
• Patricia Poku Diaby, CEO of Plot Enterprise (Gh) Ltd, who will offer her perspective on advancing the cocoa sector's supply chain.

The forum will feature panel discussions about supply chain traceability in the cocoa, coffee, and health sectors, as well as presentations on the Ghana Logistics Managers Index (LMI) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) .

The LMI is a tool CARISCA created in 2022 to support business decision makers. The quarterly index is a predictive indicator of the overall Ghanaian economy. AfCFTA is an agreement signed in 2019 to create an action plan for boosting intra-African trade.

Rounding out the program, Switzerland-based Andre Kreie from the Kühne Foundation will travel to Ghana and lead a session on “Sustaining Supply Chains in Africa: Successes and Challenges.” Kreie heads the foundation’s education unit, which addresses capacity building in middle- and low-income countries related to logistics, supply chain management, leadership and strategy.

“We hope to discover answers to two questions during the Business Forum,” says CARISCA Executive Director Dale Rogers, an internationally renowned Arizona State University professor. “What are the best supply chain practices throughout the African continent? And what support does African business need from leading-edge university research?” 

Besides the presentations, the event will serve as an opportunity for leading companies to showcase their products and services in an exhibition space.

Corporate sponsors and partners are helping to make this event possible, in addition to the U.S. Agency for International Development, which funds CARISCA. Conship (www.Conshipgh.com/), or Consolidated Shipping Agencies, is the inaugural gold sponsor. Silver sponsors include Interplast, West Africa’s leading producer of plastic pipe systems, and logistics company M&M air sea cargo GmbH based in Germany.

Promotional partners for the event include Business and Financial Times and Ghana’s National AfCFTA Coordination Office.

More than 250 people have already registered to attend this in-person-only event. Registration is free and still open. To register or learn more about sponsorship and exhibition opportunities, visit CARISCABusinessForum.com.