Prof. Douglas Boateng
Industrial expert, Prof. Douglas Boateng will on Wednesday, September 23, 2026 deliver a keynote address at the largest professional gathering on supply chain and industrialisation in Livingstone, Zambia.
In a statement issued by African Supply Chain Confederation(ASCON) Communications said Prof. Douglas Boateng willaddress the largest professional gathering on supply chain and industrialization on the continent under the theme “Breaking down Barriers through Made in Africa,”
It stated that Professor Boateng will argue that African-manufactured products should progressively carry MADE IN AFRICA as a shared continental identity, qualified by country of production such as MADE IN AFRICA, Produced in Ghana; MADE IN AFRICA, Produced in Nigeria; MADE IN AFRICA, Produced in Zambia.
“The country of production tells us where the product comes from. MADE IN AFRICA tells the world the economic family to which it belongs. A product can be proudly produced in Ghana and proudly Made in Africa. National pride and Pan-African economic identity should reinforce, not compete with, each other.” it stated
The statement indicated that Professor Boateng believes genuine continental integration demands more than customs posts and trade agreements but rather requires dismantling the psychological, procurement and institutional barriers that keep Africans from producing for, trading with, and confidently buying from one another.
“For too long, Africa has exported what it has, imported what it could progressively learn to produce, and then wondered why industrial jobs are being created elsewhere. We cannot continue exporting the seed, importing the finished fruit, and complaining that our young people cannot find work.”
“Every significant procurement decision is potentially an industrialisation decision, when an Institution spends, it is also deciding whose factory receives demand, whose workers remain employed, and where tomorrow’s productive capability will be built”. Parts of the statement read
John Kirani, Secretary General of the African Supply Chain Confederation (ASCON), said the gathering will serve as an opportunity to connect Africa’s professional capability with its wider industrial ambitions adding that Prof. Boateng’s address will challenge them to connect national productive strength into a stronger African economic ecosystem.
While commending Prof. Boateng for his contribution to supply chain and industrialization across the continent, it added that the Africa people desired will not simply arrive at the ports in containers but should be imagine, financed, sourced, produce and trade in it themselves.
Ing. Professor Douglas Boateng is a pioneering international industrial, manufacturing and production systems engineer, governance strategist, and Pan-African thought leader whose work continues to shape boardroom thinking, supply chain transformation and industrialisation strategy across the continent and beyond. He is Africa’s first appointed Professor Extraordinaire in Supply Chain Management,
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah