The Centre for Applied Research and Innovation in Supply Chain–Africa (CARISCA) has held its 2025 Supply Chain Research Summit in Lagos, Nigeria, to reimagine Africa's Supply Chains for a Sustainable Future.

The three-day event, marking the first time the Summit has been held outside Ghana, attracted over 100 participants, including experts, students, and practitioners across Africa, the United States, the United Kingdom, and beyond.

Professor Adegoke Oke, Summit Co-chair and Professor at Arizona State University, explained the motive to move to Nigeria.

“This is the first time that CARISCA has taken the Summit outside Ghana, we intend to be a Pan-African initiative centre. We thought of Nigeria, being the largest economy in Africa with a high degree of diversity of people, and decided to come here this year”, he said.

Professor Nathaniel Boso, Centre Director and Summit Co-chair, noted that the summit served as a platform for researchers and industry professionals to collaborate on strategies for strengthening Africa’s supply chain resilience and global competitiveness. Participants presented papers across four thematic tracks, tackling issues relevant to both academia and practice.

“We achieve this by bringing together academic and non-academic researchers and public, private and civil society organisations to create an ongoing dialogue addressing complex supply chain challenges in Africa,” Professor Boso stated.

Mrs. Funmilayo Olotu, CEO of B.O.O.M. Consult, shared the impact of the summit.

“We heard a lot about the supply chain, covering agro, pharmaceuticals, food, and we had a lot of students coming to showcase what they can do with research topics.”

The summit also featured five keynote speakers who addressed various dimensions of sustainable supply chains. Dr. Obiora Madu, Founder and CEO of Multimix Academy, explored the role of supply chains in sustainable development.

Dr. Oyebanji Filani, Commissioner for Health and Human Services in Ekiti State, discussed how pooled procurement can improve healthcare delivery.

 Raphael Ajayi, Director of Supply Chain at Fidson Pharmaceuticals, shared practical insights from the pharmaceutical sector, while Chief Mrs. Chinwe Ezenwa of Lelook Nigeria Limited and Professor Olayinka David-West of Lagos Business School contributed strategic perspectives from industry and academia.

This year’s Summit introduced the CARISCA Best Paper Award, which was presented to Professor Henry Kofi Mensah of KNUST School of Business and his research team for their paper on technological capabilities, circular economy practices, and supply chain value creation. The award was sponsored by the International Journal of Logistics Management (IJLM) and presented by Associate Editor Professor Nachiappan Subramanian.

The PhD Dissertation Award recognised outstanding doctoral research from African institutions. Esther Ntumy Lartey of GIMPA won the top prize, with Alfred Sallwa of Mzumbe University as First Runner-up. Prince Opoku of KNUST and Jonas Shafondino Kamakela of the University of Mauritius shared the Second Runner-up position.