00:00Turkish Airlines presents...
00:05Business Africa
00:10Welcome to this edition of Business Africa. I'm your host, Afolai.
00:15The top stories this week. Tanzania is betting on local drug...
00:20...manufacturing to reduce imports and become East Africa's pharmaceutical hub.
00:25We'll find out how Africa's private sector is...
00:30...fixing the supply chain to minimize the billions lost in post-harvest logistics.
00:35Banana tree trunks...
00:40...turned into eco-friendly bags in the Central African Republic are offering a sustainable...
00:45...alternative, but plastic bags still dominate the market.
00:50Tanzania has launched a major program to...
00:55...build its local pharmaceutical industry aiming to reduce reliance on imported medicines.
01:00...and become a manufacturing hub in East Africa.
01:03Currently, more than eight...
01:05...percent of the country's medicines and medical equipment are imported, costing about a billion...
01:10...a billion dollars annually, as the Glucando reports.
01:15Tanzania is looking to transform itself into a regional pharmaceutical manufacturer.
01:20Tanzania is a manufacturing hub.
01:21The government says that despite significant investment in the country's health sector...
01:25...tanzania is still dependent on imported medicines.
01:28...reliance on imported pharmaceuticals...
01:30...the political products possesses challenges to affordability...
01:34...availability...
01:35...and the long-term sustainability of the health services.
01:40...provision.
01:41Government data shows that in 2024, the country exported just under...
01:45...one million dollars worth of pharmaceutical products...
01:47...compared to neighboring Kenya, which are exported over...
01:50...$170 million dollars worth.
01:52To remove hurdles to investment in the health sector...
01:55...the Tanzania government has begun courting local and foreign investors...
01:58...through a special task force.
02:00...we can risk your investment by looking for local equity because we have also...
02:05...tanzanians who, they have capital, but maybe they don't have the know-how.
02:10...and the experience of learning the businesses.
02:13While many investors appear...
02:15...keen to invest, they say the government needs to invest more in manpower.
02:19The biggest challenge...
02:20...we have a shortage of labor, but not just pharmacists and pharmacist technicians.
02:25It's across the board.
02:26It's your electricians, everyone.
02:28People who are going to man the...
02:30...of the production line.
02:31Limited local sourcing of raw materials for medicine production presents...
02:35...another challenge.
02:36Additionally, Tanzanians may have to wait several years before seeing the...
02:40...all benefits of the current investment drive.
02:42However, the government remains hopeful that once...
02:45...local production is fully established, it will help safeguard the health of Tanzanians...
02:49...while also...
02:50...boosting the country's economy.
02:54To help us on the...
02:55...understanders initiative better, we're joined by Dr. Francis Malia, a medical practitioner...
03:00...and medical supply chain specialists.
03:03Dr. Malia, thank you for joining us on...
03:05...the show.
03:06What major hurdles must Tanzania overcome to make local drug...
03:10...anufacturing viable?
03:11From an investor's perspective, the biggest...
03:15...that hurdles are cost competitiveness, predictable demand, and input...
03:20...dependence.
03:21I find that even when medicines are manufactured locally, most...
03:25...active pharmaceutical ingredients, meaning the core chemical substance...
03:29...substance...
03:30...that make a drug work are still important.
03:33Now, this exposure...
03:35...forces manufacturers to foreign exchange risk, shipping delays, and global...
03:40...apply disruptions.
03:41So that is number one.
03:43The second challenge is scaling...
03:45...and market certainty, whereby factories need to...
03:48...need reliable long-term...
03:50...demand from public and private buyers to spread costs and remain viable.
03:54The third...
03:55...the third challenge is infrastructure...
03:57...especially reliable electricity...
03:59...but it...
04:00...well it works...
04:00and complaint storage systems, which are very essential.
04:05For good manufacturing practice standards.
04:08And finally...
04:10There is the skills and quality system gap, including trained pharmaceutical engineers.
04:15Quality assurance professionals and predictable regulatory processes.
04:20Now, will the Investment Acceleration Tax Force deliver real projects?
04:25And what signs should investors look out for?
04:28The pharmaceutical...
04:30The Investment Acceleration Tax Force can be highly transformative if it delivers...
04:35...to give us speed and certainty, not just in policy...
04:40...statements.
04:41And also, investors should look for clear timelines for...
04:45...and access, utilities, factory licensing...
04:50...and regulatory approvals, and whether those timelines are actually...
04:55...respected.
04:56And another key signal is whether the projects move...
05:00...to move beyond memorandums into operational factories...
05:03...such as complete deconstruction...
05:05...installed production lines, and approved good manufacturing...
05:10...parant磨 reklamist fotos...
05:11...that is, inspections...
05:12...but also, most important...
05:13...and initiatives...
05:14...aves work on ?!
05:15...not both pathogens, these are the human delineers...
05:16... especially what контр
05:27are the properties inspections...
05:29...but also, most importantly,...
05:30...invest...
05:31...maybe...
05:32...eesifted...
05:33...кр爽...
05:34...elektat saints...
05:36...wait.
05:37...we are here
05:38builds domestic drug
05:40manufacturing capacity
05:41the first
05:43major impact will be improved
05:44supply security
05:46follow
05:48gradually by more
05:50stable pricing
05:52and
05:53because local production
05:54reduces dependence on
05:55on
05:56on long
05:57long
05:58global supply chains
05:59even though some
06:00inputs
06:01will be
06:02will still
06:03be imported
06:03in the short term
06:04but over the next decade
06:07as
06:08you
06:08as manufacturers
06:08achieve
06:09skill and regulatory
06:11maturity
06:11you
06:13competition
06:13will increasingly
06:14will increasingly
06:15shift towards
06:16quality
06:17you
06:18reliability and delivery
06:20performance
06:21rather than price alone
06:23but at an original level
06:25Tanzania could evolve
06:28from being primarily
06:29an importing market
06:30to a strategic supplier
06:32within
06:33in the East Africa region
06:35and this will strengthen
06:37medicine availability.
06:38And it will increase competition
06:40across the neighboring
06:43markets.
06:43So I think that will do.
06:46Dr. Malia,
06:47thank you so much for your time.
06:48Thank you so much.
06:53Foreign Africa loses up to 37%
06:55of its harvest every year.
06:58Not just because it fails
06:58to grow food
06:59but because it fails
07:00to move it.
07:02From Nigeria,
07:03to Kenya,
07:03broken logistics
07:04are draining billions
07:06from the agricultural economy.
07:08A crisis the private sector
07:09is now stepping in to fix.
07:13Sub-Saharan Africa loses
07:15an average of 37%
07:18of its harvest every year,
07:20a waste valued
07:20at up to $92 billion.
07:23But solutions to this
07:24long-standing crisis
07:26are now within reach.
07:28In Nigeria,
07:30post-harvest losses
07:31cost the economy
07:32$2.2 billion.
07:33annually.
07:34The strawberry sector
07:35tells the story.
07:37$700 billion.
07:38are produced locally,
07:39yet half of it
07:40is lost to poor logistics.
07:42While the country's
07:43spends $600 million
07:44on imports,
07:46this is not
07:47farming failure.
07:48It's an infrastructure gap.
07:50Kofi Obunu,
07:52CEO of Food.
07:53Concepts PLC
07:54articulates
07:55the invisible logistics tax
07:56that historically
07:57has been
07:58driven up inflation.
07:59Food inflation in Nigeria
08:01basically is not only
08:02a...
08:03about the price
08:03of vegetables
08:04or rice
08:05or things
08:06that come off the farm.
08:07It's about the...
08:08cost of moving,
08:09storing and preserving
08:10those foods
08:11from the farm
08:12to the factory.
08:13to the restaurants,
08:14to the household.
08:16Bad roads,
08:17congestion...
08:18fuel costs
08:18and spoilage
08:19all drive up the cost.
08:21The challenge
08:22is continental.
08:23Kenya loses
08:24$578 million annually
08:27while...
08:28nearly half of Ghana's
08:29perishables rot
08:30before reaching markets.
08:33a new blueprint
08:33is emerging.
08:36Reducing post-harvest losses
08:37is one...
08:38one of the quickest wins
08:39for lowering food prices,
08:41right?
08:41Because it increases...
08:43usable supply
08:43without needing
08:44more farmland.
08:46The private sector
08:47can invest...
08:48in targeted areas
08:49that pay back.
08:50If you preserve
08:51quality early...
08:53you reduce
08:53spoilage later.
08:55By fixing the journey
08:56from field to fork...
08:58Africa can cut waste,
08:59stabilize prices
09:00and turn lost harvests...
09:03into lasting wealth.
09:08In the Central African Republic,
09:09banana tree trunks
09:10have been transformed
09:12into biodegradable...
09:13bags,
09:13a local alternative
09:15to plastic waste.
09:17But despite...
09:18a 2020 ban,
09:19plastic bags still dominate
09:20the market,
09:21threatening the growth
09:22of...
09:23this eco-friendly solution.
09:26On this banana...
09:28farm,
09:28fibres are extracted
09:29from plantain banana trunks
09:31and turned into eco-friendly...
09:33bags,
09:34an alternative to the plastic sachet
09:36that flood the streets of Bangalore.
09:38The initiative is run
09:39by a cooperative in Dengela,
09:42about 30 kilometers...
09:43kilometers south of the Central African capital,
09:45where nearly five hectares
09:46of plantain banana...
09:48are cultivated.
09:50The production of these biodegradable bags
09:52is creating...
09:53opportunities for a circular economy
09:55with a weekly output
09:56of up to 1,000...
09:58bags.
09:58The cooperative sometimes struggles
10:00to secure enough raw material
10:02and rely on...
10:03on neighboring banana grows,
10:05turning agricultural waste
10:06into an extra source of...
10:08income.
10:10We are going to take a look
10:11to the population around...
10:13We buy plantain banana trunks
10:14from nearby communities
10:16at 100 francs,
10:17depending on...
10:18in the distance.
10:23What used to be agricultural waste
10:27now...
10:28allows our mothers and brothers
10:29to earn extra income,
10:31in addition to selling banana...
10:33banches.
10:33The ban the regime...
10:35But the limited availability of...
10:38biodegradable bags...
10:39and the continued reliance...
10:41on plastic packaging...
10:42to protect good...
10:43from dust...
10:44are hindering a full transition...
10:46to sustainable alternatives.
10:48to business...
10:53That brings us to the end of this edition of Business Africa.
10:58For more business stories and the latest updates, stay tuned to African News or visit us online.
11:03See you soon.
11:08We'll see you soon.
11:13Business Africa was presented by Turkish Airlines.
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