Artificial Intelligence (AI) is offering Africa a unique opportunity to transform procurement, improve transparency, reduce inefficiencies, and strengthen decision-making across both the public and private sectors.
This is according to the Secretary General of the African Supply Chain Confederation (ASCON), John Karani.
He argues that procurement, long regarded as an administrative back-office function, is on the verge of its biggest technological shift since enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems digitised business processes nearly two decades ago.
In an article copied to The High Street Journal, John Karani indicated that unlike traditional digital systems that largely report historical information, AI can analyse vast amounts of data in real time, identify patterns, predict supply risks and recommend actions before problems escalate.
This shift, he says, could fundamentally change how organisations procure goods and services by moving procurement from a reactive process to a strategic function that anticipates future needs.
He added that AI can also integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into procurement decisions, enabling organisations to balance cost with sustainability, ethical sourcing and supplier diversity.
Aside from individual organisations, he believes governments and state-owned enterprises stand to benefit significantly through more transparent procurement systems that reduce waste, improve accountability and deliver better value for public funds.
For Africa, he said, embracing AI in procurement could strengthen investor confidence, improve public sector governance and unlock wider economic gains by making institutions more efficient and competitive.
