Supply Chain Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities in Africa

The top supply chain trends in Africa right now include ecommerce, sustainability, technology and skills development.

The e-commerce boom that was fuelled by Covid-19 is showing no signs of slowing. It is predicted that in 2025, e-commerce transactions in South Africa will grow 150% to R225 billion. While African consumers are clearly sold on the speed and convenience of online shopping, they are also increasingly recognising that there is an environmental price to be paid, and they are demanding greener e-commerce supply chains. African businesses also recognise that to compete on the global stage, and for Africa to rise as the supply chain powerhouse that many predict it can be, they must align with global environmental standards. Integrating sustainability into supply chain and logistics is therefore a growing imperative in Africa.

African companies are investing in technologies like electric vehicles, renewable energy sources and advanced data analytics to measure, manage and minimise their environmental impact. They are optimising transportation routes to have fewer vehicles on the road and to cut CO2 emissions. They are adopting circular supply chain models, to get more use out of products and move beyond the traditional “take-make-waste” approach.

Takealot, which is South Africa’s largest online retailer, has embarked on a green journey, including transitioning to battery-electric trucks to cut emissions. The group has fleets of battery-electric trucks on the roads in Gauteng and the Western Cape. Woolworths, a leading retailer of food, clothing, homeware and beauty products, was the first South African retailer to embark on an extensive rollout of electric panel vans (EVs) to deliver customers’ online purchases. To power the vans, electricity is sourced as far as possible from renewable sources.

Africa’s challenging supply chain environment – marked by rising costs, skills shortages, infrastructure, resource and utility constraints – is proving an ideal catalyst for supply chain innovation. Technology-driven solutions are being leveraged to overcome the challenges and enhance supply chain efficiency. There are inspiring examples from across Africa, including in public health supply chains, where technology-powered supply chain solutions are saving lives. In Malawi and Rwanda, the Ministries of Health have partnered with the private sector to implement technology solutions that are addressing public health supply chain challenges like manual processes, poor data, a lack of visibility, unintegrated systems, limited supply chain skills, different agencies and limited funds. 

Drone technology is constantly developing and it is transforming last mile deliveries of life-saving medicines and humanitarian aid in Africa. Drones help to save time where it is more geographically challenging for cars, motorcycles or boats to reach destinations and have the potential to create cost-efficiencies. The drone is a powerful tool for governments to address the equity gap, improving access to primary health care to the underreached. 

In the Kingdom of Eswatini, a state-of-the-art healthcare facility uses the latest technology and innovations – including drones – to deliver free healthcare to people in need. The drone network overcomes the challenges of rural healthcare delivery. The drones, which are powered by solar energy, facilitate rapid, two-way delivery of medical supplies, including snakebite antivenom and blood units, ensuring that life-saving treatments reach those in need quickly and efficiently. The drone programme is operated by local pilots and ground crew. Eswatini nationals have been trained as pilots.

Adaptability and ingenuity are among the superpowers of African supply chain professionals. In South Africa, the electricity crisis, looming water crisis and decaying infrastructure exacerbate supply chain challenges and uncertainty. In response, South African businesses are becoming increasingly self-sufficient when it comes to electricity, with most organisations investing in alternative energy sources like solar and implementing water back-up solutions. 

In today’s volatile supply chain environment, the importance of education and ongoing skills development cannot be overstated, and this is especially true amid Africa’s unique supply chain challenges. Skilled, knowledgeable, suitably qualified supply chain professionals innovate, can leverage technology, implement best practices and optimise supply chains. SAPICS has been working to elevate, educate and empower supply chain professionals in South Africa and across the continent since 1966. We provide Southern African supply chain practitioners with access to a range of internationally recognised certifications as well as high quality, impactful short courses. To address the continent’s supply chain skills deficit, we are working to grow our network of Authorised Education Providers across Africa. We are rolling out new initiatives and partnerships with universities aimed at upskilling and empowering young graduates and professionals for career success. One of our objectives, as an industry body, is to create a pathway and provide support to ensure that academia and the supply chain requirements of the private and public sectors are aligned, for mutual benefit and advancement.

Africa’s supply chain environment is at a critical junction marked by exciting opportunities and daunting challenges. But with strategic investments in infrastructure, technology adoption, sustainable practices and skills development, our continent can be a powerful link in global supply chains.

Thato Moloi is the president of leading supply chain industry body SAPICS, a non-profit organisation founded in 1966 to elevate, educate and empower the community of supply chain professionals across Africa. This is done via membership, events, the annual conference and education courses and workshops through Authorised Education Providers and others.

The annual SAPICS Conference is the leading event in Africa for supply chain professionals and is now in its 47th year. The 2025 SAPICS Conference takes place in Cape Town from 8 to 11 June 2025.