The African Supply Chain Confederation (ASCON) has announced the appointment of Dr. Simon Annan, President of the Ghana Institute of Procurement and Supply (GIPS), as chairman of its advisory board, marking a major milestone in Africa’s drive toward integrated, professionally governed, and globally competitive supply chains.

ASCON is a pan African procurement and supply chain body established to professionalise, integrate, and future proof Africa’s fragmented supply chain ecosystem.

Dr. Annan brings over two decades of sustained leadership in procurement and supply chain management, offering depth, continuity, and strategic clarity to guide ASCON’s long term vision and decision making.

Dr. Annan’s experience spans policy development, governance leadership, and professional capacity building across public, private, and NGO sectors.

His appointment signals a decisive shift from transactional practices toward ethical, performance driven systems capable of supporting Africa’s industrialisation ambitions and unlocking the full promise of the African Continental Free Trade Area.

The appointment further reinforces Ghana’s strategic role at the heart of Africa’s supply chain transformation, strengthening continental efforts to modernise logistics, procurement, and value chain infrastructure.

These reforms are foundational to seamless cross border trade, competitiveness, and inclusive growth across the continent.

Formed in August last year, ASCON was created as a unified platform to address long standing fragmentation within Africa’s supply chain profession. Its founding membership spans seven countries—Eswatini, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe—reflecting a shared commitment to collaboration, harmonised standards, and mutual recognition across borders.

ASCON’s work focuses on harmonising professional standards, sharing best practices, and improving efficiency across procurement, logistics, and supply chain management.

Central to this mission is the development of standardised accreditation frameworks and robust ethical codes designed to elevate competence, strengthen accountability, and build trust across regional supply chains.

By integrating regional supply chains and reducing operational bottlenecks, ASCON aims to enhance the competitiveness of African businesses, unlock economies of scale, and accelerate economic integration—key enablers of industrial growth, job creation, and long term economic sovereignty.

The confederation’s leadership is further powerfully reinforced by visionary Pan African stewardship, with Mr. Ronald Mlalazi serving as President and Professor Douglas Boateng appointed as Goodwill Ambassador.

Professor Boateng’s association brings generational purpose, continental ambition, and global authority, strengthening ASCON’s mission to reengineer Africa’s supply chains into ethically governed, seamlessly integrated engines of industrialisation and shared prosperity for present and future generations.

Together, this leadership constellation represents more than appointments. It signals a continental reset—one that recognises Africa’s future competitiveness will be secured not by rhetoric, but by professionally governed supply chains, integrated markets, and leaders willing to think beyond borders, political cycles, and short term gains.