CIPS Global CEO Ben Farrell, KCB Head of Supply Chain Operations and Sustainability Joy Njau and Senior Manager Supply Chain Management Eve Okello during the CIPS East Africa launch in Nairobi. [Courtesy]
Kenya has been named the regional base of the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS), the world’s largest professional body for procurement and supply, in a move its global leadership says is intended to make the country the reference point for the profession on the African continent.
The institute officially launched its East Africa office in Nairobi in August before an audience of chief procurement officers, supply chain directors, regulators, academics and corporate partners, confirming Kenya as the coordinating hub for its operations in 13 countries.
“We had a commitment in our conversation today to make Kenya Africa’s shining star for the professionalisation of procurement,” said CIPS global chief executive Ben Farrell, MBE, referring to talks held earlier in the day with the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority on embedding global standards across the public sector.
“We’re here, we’re here to stay, and we’re firmly committed to the professionalisation of procurement across this continent,” he told guests, noting that the office fulfills a pledge he made on his first visit to Nairobi exactly a year earlier.
CIPS East Africa general manager Letticia Nkumbula said the Nairobi office will serve members and corporate clients in Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan, Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea, Seychelles and Comoros, among others.
“Kenya is the gateway to every corner of East Africa,” she said. “Organisations that want a presence in the region start by looking at Kenya, and so did we.”