African large enterprises are under pressure to bring digital procurement deeper into their operations as executives seek better control over hidden spending, supplier blind spots and governance failures.
At the Digital Procurement Africa Summit 2026, under the theme “Accelerating Procurement Transformation for Large Enterprises in the Digital Era”, specialists argued that procurement software is no longer just a back-office tool for efficiency. Instead, it is becom...
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ing a wider enterprise intelligence layer, used to monitor supplier conduct, flag compliance issues and surface financial risk across sprawling vendor networks.
A recurring theme at the summit was tail spend, the mass of small-value purchases that often escape scrutiny in large organisations. Gloopro was singled out as one of the platforms being used to manage that category, with the company positioning its tools as a way to centralise approvals, strengthen governance and improve visibility over indirect spending. Its website says the business focuses on procurement-as-a-service for multinational groups in Africa and aims to cut the total cost of ownership of indirect spend by as much as 40%.
Adenrele Thompson, indirect procurement manager for supply chain at Coca-Cola HBC, said many firms have long dismissed low-value transactions as too minor to warrant close control. In his view, that attitude has created significant governance gaps. He said modern systems now make it possible to introduce transparency and due diligence even where individual purchases look insignificant.
Thompson compared the shift to the way mobile applications changed consumer behaviour, saying digital procurement is becoming unavoidable for companies operating in fast-moving markets. “If you are not digital, it is just a matter of time,” he said.
Olumide Olusanya, founder and chief executive of Gloopro, said procurement leaders often struggle to persuade boards to replace legacy structures because many senior executives built their businesses before digital tools became central to operations. He said the burden now falls on procurement teams to demonstrate that automation is not merely an efficiency upgrade but a strategic necessity.
Raphael Ikonagbin, director for large corporates for Europe and Africa at Moody’s, said the challenge is especially acute in Africa, where many Tier 2 and Tier 3 suppliers lack transparent financial records or formal credit histories. He said procurement platforms are increasingly being used as an alternative source of intelligence, because they can reveal payment patterns, transaction histories, performance records, compliance data and ownership structures.
That, he said, is pushing companies away from isolated supplier reviews and towards a more connected view of risk across entire supply ecosystems.
Chukwuma Nkwodinmah, procurement and supply chain management leader at Aradel Holdings Plc, warned that uncontrolled tail spend can create parallel buying systems outside formal oversight. He said employees often justify off-system purchases as a way to move faster, but the consequence is leakage, compliance exposure and weaker controls. “Tail spend is no longer procurement leakage,” he said. “It is governance failure.”
The broader message from the summit was that African enterprises are moving towards automation platforms, supplier-management systems and analytics tools not just to save money, but to build resilience. Analysts at the event said the next stage of development will likely involve artificial intelligence, predictive analytics and integrated risk monitoring designed to spot supplier problems before they disrupt operations.
That view is consistent with the wider market. Providers such as Maistro, Globality and GEP are all promoting AI-enabled tail spend tools that offer greater visibility, pre-vetted supplier options and policy controls, reflecting a broader industry push to turn fragmented buying into something more measurable and more secure. In Africa, where cross-border supplier networks are growing and informal procurement remains common in some sectors, the case for stronger digital oversight appears to be gaining urgency.
Source: Noah Wire Services
