The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on logistics and supply chain management (SCM) in Africa over the last few decades. It provides a comprehensive assessment of theory application regarding the research articles published between 1994 and 2016. Design/methodology/approach In this structured systematic literature review, a set of 110 articles on SCM research in Africa is assessed. Findings The authors present the state-of-the-art review on logistics and SCM research in Africa. Extant literature shows that most research works focused on operational aspects of logistics and SCM and that papers drew heavily on theories inspired by strategic management, marketing, micro/macroeconomics and organizational behavior theories. Also, most of the papers with theoretical background can be categorized into theory matching and theory dressing and only a minority of theoretical papers belongs to theory suggestion category. Furthermore, based on the findings, the authors present a framework to characterize the peculiar aspects of Africa-based SCM and logistics practices and provide research propositions related to underexplored aspects of logistics and SCM in Africa. Research limitations/implications This study has a number of implications. Practitioners and researchers will gain a greater understanding of how logistics and SCM are carried out in Africa and the type of issues that have been addressed. Furthermore, researchers will be able to identify areas that need greater research attention in Africa. Originality/value This study is one of the first literature reviews of publications on logistics and SCM in Africa. It presents an overarching map of the research to date and a series of propositions to inform future research.