Lagos Business School (LBS) launches its maiden event for the Africa Retail Academy membership Series

Lagos Business School (LBS) recently hosted its maiden event for the membership series of the Africa Retail Academy which was designed to enable robust discussion by industry experts on prevalent issues in retail operations and inventory management. The webinar also featured breakout sessions for deeper interactions between panelists and participants.

The Africa Retail Academy is an LBS initiative which aims to establish a community of experts and practitioners in the African retail sector, as well as provide a platform for the dissemination of the continent’s current retail advancements. Through this initiative, LBS is championing the development of the retail sector in Africa and preparing industry players to take full advantage of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) recently signed by 40 African countries.

The academy also offers a broad spectrum of asynchronous programmes and short courses tailored to the unique African retail environment. These programmes and courses were developed to address the paucity of qualified professionals with the requisite technical expertise in the retail sector.

During the webinar which was held on Saturday 22 January 2022, a panel of seasoned professionals from various parts of Africa had a 45-minutes fireside chat on how retailers can improve the efficiency of their market through operations and inventory management. Also discussed was the impact of AfCFTA and how retailers can best position to take advantage of the emerging opportunities.

The panelists were Jan Tukker, MD, Business Chain, South Africa; Willy Kimani, CCO, Naivas; and Dr Frank Ojadi of Lagos Business School. The panel discussion was moderated by Mr Chidi Okoro, Alternate Academic Director, African Retail Academy. In highlighting the potential of the retail environment in Africa, Willy Kimani summed it up as “It is not how we do it, but it is how it is meant to be done. The bigger question is; how will retail look like in the next 15 years? Advising the participants on possible methods to deal with current and future challenges, Jan tukker opined that “There are many supply chain issues but the right processes and talent can ensure success. If you win the back end, then you will win the front end.” Also sharing his thoughts, Frank Ajadi advised “Africa free trade will be great if we optimize it, but it can be bad if we do not leverage it.”

During the experience sharing session, Mrs. Joke Bakare, CEO of Medplus (Nigerian online pharmacy and Africa’s largest privately held drugstore chain) delivered a keynote presentation on navigating Africa’s retail operations and inventory management with a spotlight on Medplus and how it has navigated the retail landscape in Nigeria. According to her “The establishment of the Africa Retail Academy is a positive move towards assisting talent management in the retail sector, which is why Medplus agreed to support the academy’s first webinar edition.”

The Director of the Africa Retail Academy, Dr Uchenna Uzo shared the academy’s projections and details of the programmes and customised short courses available to all players in the retail sector.

The date of the much anticipated second e-commerce themed webinar is Tuesday 29 April 2022.