Call for Papers

About the Call for Papers

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become an integral part of supply chain practices and policy as it continues to shape and co-evolve with how supply chains operate. AI technologies take various forms and are designed and deployed for different purposes across manufacturing, transport and logistics, healthcare, agriculture, education, and other productive sectors. These technologies include:

• Predictive AI (e.g., for demand and disruption forecasting)
• Prescriptive AI (e.g., for optimal scheduling and transportation decisions)
• Cognitive AI (e.g., for supply chain scenario planning)
• Autonomous AI (e.g., robotics and autonomous vehicles)
• Generative AI (e.g., for producing supply chain reports)

The relevance and use of these technologies in African supply chains are expected to grow, given that they are not only inevitable but also have the potential to enhance multi-faceted outcomes such as organizational, supply chain, and community resilience and sustainability.

However, the design, operation, and governance of AI-enabled supply chains in Africa face many challenges. First, the performance indicators of AI technologies, such as speed, effectiveness, efficiency, and accuracy, depend on the data on which they are trained. Because AI-enabled supply chain technologies are largely developed outside Africa, the training data may not adequately reflect the unique decision-making contexts of African supply chains, including socio-cultural diversity and complexity, cultural norms, values, and priorities, and institutional constraints and opportunities.

Second, inherent biases in AI outputs often reflect the biases of their developers, who may have a limited understanding of the realities in African contexts. Third, although AI governance is critical, many African countries lack robust policies to regulate the development and use of AI. Voids in country-specific and regional regulations regarding AI-human interface, for example, are a major concern.

Fourth, the resources required to power and operate AI-enabled supply chains cost-effectively, such as reliable electricity and technology-based human capital, remain scarce or underdeveloped in many African countries. Fifth, African supply chain contexts comprise mainly micro and small-scale organizations that may not be AI-ready. These organizations may struggle to adopt and benefit from AI, and they also risk being cut off from AI-enabled supply chain networks of large organizations.

African supply chains must therefore find Africa context-specific strategies to navigate the opportunities and challenges that come with the adoption of AI in supply chains.

The 2026 CARISCA Supply Chain Summit will bring together researchers, experts, practitioners, and policymakers in Africa and beyond to discuss the place of AI in Africa's supply chains. We welcome researchers to share theoretically and empirically grounded insights from African supply chains. Experts, practitioners, and policymakers are also welcome to offer experiences and perspectives to inform future research on AI-enabled supply chains in Africa.

Below are a few indicative topics of interest to the Summit. Submissions on other related topics are welcome. Submissions may focus on topics within or across the listed tracks.

In addition to the main summit, there will be (1) Paper development workshop (PDW) and (2) Dissertation award sessions. Details on how to apply for the PDW and the dissertation award session will be available soon on the CARISCA website: https://carisca.knust.edu.gh/

Details regarding accommodations, keynote speakers, experiential learning trips and the conference programme will be available later.