Supply Chain Now: "Celebrating Excellence, Leadership, and Innovation Across Africa"

Episode Date: March 16, 2026

Episode Overview

In this special installment of the "Supply Chain Leadership Across Africa" series, hosts Scott Lewton and Jenny Froome welcome thought leaders Liesl Deet (Director and Head of Accelerated Organizational Sustainability, Unitrans) and Angelina Kumba (Manager, Access to Health Products, VillageReach, and past ASCEA winner) to discuss how excellence, leadership, and innovation are transforming supply chains across Africa. The panel takes a deep dive into the evolution of supply chain thinking, the unique challenges and opportunities on the continent, and the impact and stories behind the Africa Supply Chain Excellence Awards (ASCEA) as it celebrates its fifth anniversary.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

Warm-Up: Passion, Hobbies, and the Human Side of Supply Chain

[03:33-09:57]

• Liesl Deet’s Penguin Adoption: Liesl shares her work with SANCCOB, adopting rescue penguins, showing the tie between passion for biodiversity and sustainable supply chain thinking.
  • "Penguins are a very important key to our biodiversity and represent why I’m passionate about sustainable supply chain." – Liesl Deet [05:15]
• Angelina Kumba’s Balancing Forces: Angelina discusses singing gospel music and cooking as forms of creative expression and personal balance.
  • "Singing is the opposite of my day-to-day life. It allows me to slow down, breathe, and simply be present... Food tells stories—about identity, history, and community." – Angelina Kumba [06:45]
• Pleas for Work-Life Balance: Jenny Froome, recovering from a serious health incident, emphasizes the need for hobbies and life outside work in supply chain.
  • "Find a hobby now, so that should anything bad happen, you’ve got something that takes your mind off negativity. Don’t lose the passion for something other than your work." – Jenny Froome [09:58]

Top Trends Impacting African Supply Chains

[10:58-18:38]

• Sustainability & Technology:
  • Liesl: Focus on sustainability (financial and environmental), the impact of climate change, need for resilience and adaptability, leapfrogging with technology (AI, robotics), but without losing sight of basics (cold chain, fundamental processes).
    • "Africa can leapfrog by starting off on the correct note… Technology will change a lot, but don’t lose sight of the fundamentals." – Liesl Deet [11:59]
• Human-First Operations:
  • Jenny: Emphasizes not losing the "people" in technological progress, especially given many communities lack basics like water or electricity.
    • "There’s a heap of fundamentals we mustn’t forget. The people part is still phenomenally important." – Jenny Froome [15:02]
• Strategic System Design & Holistic Sustainability:
  • Angelina: Shift from viewing logistics purely as transport to treating supply chain as a development accelerator—requiring trained professionals, governance, public-private partnerships, and resilient, equitable systems.
    • "Supply chain is now seen as a development accelerator, not just a technical thing." – Angelina Kumba [16:16]
    • "Sustainability isn’t just environmental—it’s operational and financial too. The system has to function effectively over time, even under pressure." [18:11]
• Sustainability via Professional Training:
  • Jenny: Maintaining a pipeline of trained professionals is critical to long-term sustainability.
    • "For me, sustainability has always been about the training of supply chain professionals and making sure there’s a constant pipeline." – Jenny Froome [19:15]

The Africa Supply Chain Excellence Awards (ASCEA) — Purpose and Impact

[20:19-26:48]

• Genesis and Motivation:
  • Started by Jenny and Liesl to celebrate African supply chain excellence after COVID-19 and uplift the industry; a “by the industry, for the industry” initiative.
    • "We wanted to celebrate supply chain management excellence across the continent… and set up a platform with exceptionally talented, passionate people." – Jenny Froome [20:19]
    • "Africa defines resilience… and we wanted to celebrate that and share stories to inspire and highlight what works." – Liesl Deet [22:27]
• Deeper Meaning:
  • Angelina: Awards are not just about trophies—they demonstrate the impact of transforming public health supply chains and remind leaders that the field is about people.
    • "Winning… was not about the trophy. It shows the work we do to strengthen public health sectors truly matters… At the end of the day, supply chain is about people." – Angelina Kumba [24:18]
    • "The award reminded us Africa has the talent and capability to design strong solutions—we need discipline, courage, and confidence in our own solutions." [25:59]

Inspiring Award Stories and Case Studies

[27:15-34:51]

• SA Harvest:
  • Implemented a solution to feed 100,000+ meals/day, saving 53,000 tons of carbon emissions by avoiding food waste.
    • "A story of not only addressing societal need but environmental need, using circular economy and reverse logistics." – Liesl Deet [27:15]
• EV Bike Innovation:
  • Stellenbosch University and Rome, an EV-bike company, piloted solar-powered delivery bikes across Africa, testing sustainability and load capacity in challenging infrastructure.
• The Luke Commission (Eswatini):
  • COVID-driven innovation: built local oxygen manufacturing when imports failed; used drones for rapid anti-venom delivery.
    • "Their supply chains are lifesaving… COVID forced them to build their own oxygen plant—a symbol of African resilience." – Jenny Froome [29:51]
• Wide Range:
  • Projects span industrial (railways, manufacturing) and humanitarian achievements (Books for Africa).
    • "To be able to hold our heads up and say we celebrate end-to-end supply chain management is what makes me proud." – Jenny Froome [40:57]

The 2026 Awards: What’s New and How to Get Involved

[37:52-45:16]

• Higher-Quality Entries & New Headline Sponsor:
  • Increasing standards and a new sponsor, Newlyn (property/warehousing group).
    • "We feel there’s a level up… Africa is growing rapidly, and we’re at the forefront of that growth." – Liesl Deet [38:13]
• Growing Recognition:
  • COVID accelerated recognition of supply chain’s critical role.
    • "There’s a lot of free advertising now—more people realize they’re doing what supply chain is about.” – Jenny Froome [39:30]
• Award Entry Details:
  • Open to African-based projects or global organizations with African projects (entries due April 30; gala on August 19).
  • "We’re looking for the supply chain story—either the end-to-end or a project/case study." – Liesl Deet [44:54]
  • "Books for Africa, though US-based, is a great supply chain story operating in Africa." – Jenny Froome [43:59]

Leadership for Supply Chain Excellence

[46:27-51:59]

• Systemic, Inclusive, Adaptive Leadership:
  • Angelina: Leaders must examine existing systems, adapt to new realities, understand interconnected elements (finance, policy, community), build local capacity, and empower frontline workers.
    • "Leadership requires the confidence to examine if existing systems fit today’s reality… Ownership and local capacity are critical—sustainability cannot rely on external support." – Angelina Kumba [46:27]
• Continuous Improvement and Holistic View:
  • Liesl: Excellence comes from continuous improvement grounded in basics, and seeing the supply chain as a holistic, interconnected ecosystem.
    • "Continuous improvement built on solid foundation is key… What does not benefit the hive does not benefit the bee." – Liesl Deet [49:19]
• Collaborative Community:
  • Jenny: Leadership is increasingly collective, distributed across networks, and about nurturing communities.
    • "There are multiple leaders, each leading small parts of the hive… that global community is leadership in itself and we need to keep that going." – Jenny Froome [51:09]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Supply chain for me is not about trucks. It's about people." – Angelina Kumba [00:00], [24:18]
• "Find a hobby now. Don’t lose the passion for something other than your work." – Jenny Froome [09:58]
• "Africa can leapfrog by starting off on the correct note." – Liesl Deet [11:59]
• "Supply chain is now seen as a development accelerator." – Angelina Kumba [16:16]
• "What does not benefit the hive does not benefit the bee." – Liesl Deet citing Marcus Aurelius [49:19]
• "If you want to move mountains, it’s millions of small nudges… everyone has a role." – Scott Lewton [51:59]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:33] – Guest introductions & hobbies (penguins, singing, cooking)
• [10:58] – Top supply chain trends in Africa
• [20:19] – Founding and purpose of the Africa Supply Chain Excellence Awards
• [27:15] – Noteworthy award winners & case studies
• [37:52] – What’s new for ASCEA 2026; how to enter
• [46:27] – Supply chain leadership essentials
• [52:47] – How to connect with panelists and closing remarks

How to Connect and Get Involved

• ASCEA Awards: ascea.co.za
  – Entries open for African-based supply chain projects and case studies (due April 30, 2026); gala on Aug 19, 2026.
• Connect on LinkedIn:
  • Liesl Deet, Angelina Kumba, Jenny Froome
• Nonprofits highlighted:
  • VillageReach
  • Luke Commission
  • Books for Africa

Final Takeaways

• The African supply chain community is thriving with passion, resilience, and homegrown innovation.
• Excellence means more than technology—it’s about people, process, and persistent, purpose-driven improvement.
• The ASCEA recognizes both humanitarian and industrial achievements; entries and stories from across the continent are encouraged.
• Leadership in supply chain is a collective force—collaborative, ecosystem-minded, and committed to continuous learning and local empowerment.

"Passion with purpose is exceptionally important. You can be passionate, but if you don’t translate that into purpose and doing, you’re not going to move the needle." – Liesl Deet [52:47]