ABUJA, June 22 – The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Bank of Industry (BOI) have stepped up efforts to support pharmaceutical manufacturing in Nigeria through a €50 million healthcare financing programme aimed at expanding local production of medicines and other medical products.
The initiative, launched under the partnership between EIB Global and the BOI, will provide long term funding to pharmaceutical manufacturers, vaccine producers, diagnostic companies and other healthcare businesses looking to grow their operations.
A joint delegation from both institutions recently visited Fidson Healthcare’s manufacturing facility in Sango Ota, Ogun State, where the company was announced as one of the first beneficiaries of the financing programme.
According to the BOI, the initiative is designed to strengthen Nigeria’s healthcare manufacturing industry, improve access to affordable financing and encourage more local production.
Fidson said its partnership with the Bank of Industry began in 2010 and has played a major role in the company’s growth. During that period, its workforce increased from about 250 employees to around 1,800, while investment also expanded into green manufacturing and environmentally friendly production processes.
The company added that it now operates one of the largest and most advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in Sub Saharan Africa and is continuing to invest in higher production and quality standards.
The EIB said the programme forms part of the European Union’s Global Gateway initiative, which seeks to strengthen healthcare manufacturing across Africa and reduce dependence on imported medical products.
The financing scheme is also expected to support job creation, strengthen local supply chains and contribute to the African Union’s target of producing 60 per cent of vaccines and essential medicines locally by 2040, while helping position Nigeria as a healthcare manufacturing hub in West Africa.
