Nairobi, Aug. 26 -- Two weeks ago, we opened the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) Kenya office in Nairobi. I told the room at the Serena that we are here, that we are here to stay, and that we are committed to the professionalisation of procurement across this continent.

That was not a courtesy line. It was a judgement about where this profession is going and about Kenya's place in it.

For years, procurement across East Africa has been treated as a back-office function: raise the order, chase the supplier, keep the lights on. That era is ending.

Where cost was once the primary driver of supply, the conversation now centres on resilience in both the private and public sectors. But the obstacle is not efficiency. It i...