The Growing Opportunities that African Pharmaceuticals Present 

According to a new report by the World Economic Forum, AfCFTA: A New Era for Global Business and Investment in Africa, the pharmaceutical industry is likely to be among the prime beneficiaries of the introduction of frictionless trade in Africa. The industry’s high product complexity means there are tremendous opportunities to invest in local value chains for goods such as packaged and unpackaged medicines, vaccines, medical instruments and bandages — all of which have high local valued added potential — and the AfCFTA will open the possibility of meeting local demand locally as well as make it easier to overcome production barriers in a short time frame. The AfCFTA will also help overcome the challenge of small fragmented markets in order to create a positive cycle of increased regional manufacturing, research and local talent. Small, isolated markets made it impossible for African countries to compete with Asian manufacturers.

WEFORUM