CeProd Moves to Build Africa’s Productivity Workforce, Opens Professional Certification

PRESS RELEASE

LAGOS, NIGERIA — September 9, 2026: — As Africa continues to grapple with the challenge of raising productivity, improving workplace performance and developing a workforce capable of competing in a rapidly changing economy, the Centre for Public Service Productivity and Development Africa's Leading Professional Productivity Membership & Certification Organisation (CeProd) has announced a major professional development initiative aimed at producing a new generation of Certified Productivity Professionals (CPPs).

CeProd is accredited as an International Qualifications and Assessment, (IQA), USA Training Centre.

The Centre is set to conduct its Certified Productivity Professional (CPP) Professional Examination , offering professionals across the public and private sectors an opportunity to acquire specialised knowledge and practical skills in productivity management, organisational performance, digital transformation, performance measurement and business growth.

The examination is scheduled for April and October each year and will be conducted online, with registration currently open.

According to CeProd, the programme is designed around a fundamental principle: productivity is not simply about getting more work done, but about improving the way people, processes, resources and technology work together to achieve better results.

A response to Africa's productivity challenge

CeProd's initiative comes against the backdrop of what the organisation describes as an alarming decline in productivity in Africa's national economies, particularly in the public sector, with consequential effects on the quality of life.

The Centre argues that improving national productivity requires more than government policies and investment in infrastructure. It also requires professionals who understand how to identify inefficiencies, measure performance, improve processes, manage resources and lead organisational change.

The CPP programme has consequently been structured to bridge the gap between academic or professional qualifications and the practical productivity competencies required in today's workplace.

The programme is designed to help participants strengthen productivity knowledge and apply it to real organisational situations, positioning them to contribute more effectively to efficiency, organisational performance and growth.

Skills employers increasingly need

Unlike conventional programmes that concentrate on a single professional discipline, the CPP curriculum cuts across several areas that directly affect organisational performance.

Participants will study 14 core productivity and organisational development areas, including:

• Staff productivity and employee performance improvement
• Performance measurement and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
• Setting productive standards, targets and growth milestones
• Flexible and technology-enabled working
• Organisational knowledge management
• Technology and growth strategies
• Digital business marketing
• Cash-flow and liquidity management
• Personal productivity and time management
• Organisational efficiency and process improvement
• Negotiation and supplier relationship management
• Succession planning
• Professional ethics and productivity
• The role of productivity professionals in organisational development.

These areas reflect some of the critical challenges confronting organisations today—how to get more value from employees, improve processes, manage costs, use technology effectively, retain organisational knowledge and prepare businesses for sustainable growth.

Certification linked to professional membership

One of the distinguishing features of the initiative is that the CPP examination forms part of a broader CeProd professional pathway leading to membership categories including Associate (ACP), Member (MCP) and Fellow (FCP).

For successful participants pursuing the Associate pathway, the programme provides a route into the CeProd professional community, subject to the applicable membership and induction requirements.

CeProd's membership programme provides members with opportunities for professional networking, knowledge sharing, access to productivity resources and engagement with other professionals and business leaders.

The organisation's membership information also highlights flexible learning, professional certification, networking opportunities, access to productivity tools and templates, research and continuing professional development.

This makes the CPP initiative potentially significant beyond the examination itself: participants are being introduced to a professional community focused specifically on productivity, organisational development and continuous improvement.

Who should take the certification?

CeProd says the programme is not restricted to one profession or industry. It is designed for managers and supervisors, entrepreneurs and business owners, human resource professionals, administrative professionals, team leaders, consultants, project managers, public and private sector professionals, business executives, organisational development professionals and individuals seeking career development.

This broad target audience reflects the Centre's belief that productivity is a responsibility that cuts across virtually every profession and sector of the economy.

For a manager, for example, the knowledge can support better staff performance and KPI management. For an entrepreneur, it can strengthen business processes, cash-flow management and growth strategies. For a public servant, it can support efficiency and improved service delivery. For a consultant, it can provide additional tools for helping organisations diagnose and solve productivity problems.

“Don't simply aim to be busy. Learn to be productive. Learn to measure performance. Learn to drive results.”

The message captures a growing concern in organisations globally—that employee activity does not necessarily translate into productivity or results.

The CPP programme therefore emphasises the ability to identify inefficiencies, improve processes and contribute to better organisational outcomes, rather than simply accumulating knowledge or professional credentials.

CeProd: Building productive people and productive organisations

The Centre for Public Service Productivity and Development says its focus is on productivity enhancement, professional development and organisational performance.

Through its training and membership programmes, CeProd seeks to provide individuals and organisations with knowledge and strategies that can support improved productivity, efficiency and performance.

A professional investment in Africa's future

As Africa seeks to increase economic output, improve public-sector performance, strengthen businesses and create a more competitive workforce, productivity has become an issue that cannot be left solely to economists and policymakers.

Every organisation ultimately depends on people who can set meaningful targets, measure performance, eliminate waste, improve processes, manage resources, embrace technology and lead change.

It is in this context that CeProd is positioning the CPP as more than another professional examination, but as a pathway towards developing practitioners who can contribute directly to productivity improvement in Nigerian organisations.

The Centre is consequently inviting qualified and interested professionals to register for the virtual training and online examination.

CeProd- Advancing Productivity. Developing Professionals. Building a Continental Network. Transforming Organisations.