In its September Newsletter “Productivity On The Move”, the National Productivity Competitiveness Council (NPCC) has announced the hosting of the Africa Kaizen Annual Conference (AKAC) 2026 on 26 and 27 October, to be held at The Ravenala Attitude Hotel under the theme, Sustainable Kaizen for a Competitive and Prosperous Africa, co-organised by the Pan-African Productivity Association (PAPA) along with the Government.
The sub-theme, “Advancing productivity and quality for resilient, inclusive and green growth” reflects a changing reality pertaining to productivity growth in Africa can no longer depend on efficiency solely, coupled with a need to protect natural resources, promote decent work and strengthen resilience to shocks. It is remarked that Sustainable Kaizen builds on the core principle of continuous improvement pertaining to productivity improvement to green growth, human-centred development and future-ready enterprises.
Sustainable Kaizen builds on the core principles of continuous improvement and respect for people. It explicitly links productivity improvement to green growth, human-centred development and future-ready enterprises. The event marketing the 10th anniversary of the Africa Kaizen Initiative celebrates a milestone where it gives the jurisdiction an opportunity to showcase its experience as an early adopter of Kaizen and strengthen its own productivity movement through peer exchange from Africa and beyond.
In today’s times, there are productivity tools such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), altering the way organisations assess performance, streamline processes, anticipate problems while leveraging services to customers. These new-age technologies don’t seek to replace the principles of continuous improvement but rather broaden access in terms of greater reach and precision while opening new vistas for enterprises cutting across sizes. It is in line with this that the NPCC are urging aspiring enterprises to join its nationwide call for the next generation of AI innovators, the National AI Startups Lab.
The conference is organized within the framework of the Africa Kaizen Initiative (AKI), a joint platform of the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD (AUDA-NEPAD) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). This year’s unique offerings include the participation of 31 organisations hailing from 11 African countries, where panel discussions will take place with experts from Africa, Asia and Latin America.
The conference will be held in a hybrid format, with on-site participation reserved for invited and registered participants, while the wider public can follow the proceedings online via Zoom.
