kENUP Foundation: EIB Launches EUR 50 Million Africa Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Initiative
17.12.2020 18:14:00 EET | Business Wire | Press release
The European Investment Bank today launched the first ever scheme to strengthen local production of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients in Africa and scale up drug manufacturing essential to improve public health. The EIB’s new EUR 50 million pharmaceutical investment initiative, initiated together with kENUP Foundation, will contribute to reducing dependency on drug imports and address medical supply chain weaknesses linked to COVID-19.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201217005724/en/
kENUP Foundation: EIB Launches EUR 50 Million Africa Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Initiative (Photo: Business Wire)
The programme will improve availability of specialist drugs and tackle supply chain challenges that currently damage public health across Africa. This new initiative is aligned with World Health Organisation goals and the recently announced cooperation between the EIB and WHO to combat COVID-19 and strengthen health system resilience to better face future pandemics.
Scaling up pharmaceutical investment in Africa will help to protect millions of people from disease and disability and strengthen resilience to ongoing and future pandemics.
“Accelerating high-impact pharmaceutical investment across Africa is crucial to improve public health, address medical supply chain weaknesses and unlock long-term economic development. The European Investment Bank is pleased to launch the first ever-financing initiative to scale up local production of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients in Africa. This scheme has been designed with African and global experts and builds on the EIB’s unique global technical experience and financing expertise supporting health and innovation investment.” said Thomas Östros, European Investment Bank Vice President.
“COVID-19 has highlighted how public health in Africa is vulnerable to global supply chains and dependent on international production. Increasing local specialist manufacturing of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients will help to improve the public health of millions of Africans. This new initiative demonstrates how specialist pharmaceutical and financing expertise can create jobs and a better future for Africa.” said Dr Mariângela Batista Galvão Simão, World Health Organisation Assistant Director- General responsible for Access to Medicines and Health Products.
The Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients financing initiative was formally launched earlier today with participation of representatives from the European Investment Bank, World Health Organisation, EDCTP, Global Access in Action at Harvard Law School and kENUP Foundation. Kenyan-based non-profit APIFA (API for Africa) contributed their expertise throughout the process of establishing this financing facility and will act as a non-exclusive promotor to the facility.
“This is a timely facility that will transform the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry on the continent and thus enhance access to essential medicines for vulnerable populations. We call on all relevant stakeholders to now work together to support manufacturers in this transformation journey and ensure the long-term viability of this initiative”, says Gerald Macharia, a founding director of APIFA.
More information can be found at https://www.kenup.eu.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201217005724/en/
Contact information
Press:
Tobias Mac-Lean
maclean@kenup.eu
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Xsolla Celebrates International Women’s Day by Spotlighting Women in Games and Advancing Its Vision for Female Leadership8.3.2026 15:00:00 EET | Press release
Xsolla, a global video game commerce company that helps developers launch, grow, and monetize their games, today reaffirmed its ongoing commitment to supporting women across the global gaming ecosystem through curated community initiatives, industry events, and thought leadership platforms in key growth markets, including Türkiye, Dubai, and Cyprus. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260308595758/en/ Graphic: Xsolla As the gaming industry continues to expand across emerging and high-growth markets, Xsolla is focused on empowering developers globally, including fostering a more inclusive ecosystem that gives women founders, studio leaders, publishers, and entrepreneurs greater access to visibility, networks, and opportunities. Through a series of targeted industry gatherings and community-led discussions, Xsolla has actively supported conversations around women in leadership in gaming. Most recently, in Dubai, Xso
Xsolla Celebrates International Women’s Day by Spotlighting Women in Games and Advancing Its Vision for Female Leadership8.3.2026 15:00:00 EET | Press release
Xsolla, a global video game commerce company that helps developers launch, grow, and monetize their games, today reaffirmed its ongoing commitment to supporting women across the global gaming ecosystem through curated community initiatives, industry events, and thought leadership platforms in key growth markets, including Türkiye, Dubai, and Cyprus. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260308595758/en/ Graphic: Xsolla As the gaming industry continues to expand across emerging and high-growth markets, Xsolla is focused on empowering developers globally, including fostering a more inclusive ecosystem that gives women founders, studio leaders, publishers, and entrepreneurs greater access to visibility, networks, and opportunities. Through a series of targeted industry gatherings and community-led discussions, Xsolla has actively supported conversations around women in leadership in gaming. Most recently, in Dubai, Xso
Aqara Showcases Scaling Professional-Grade Infrastructure and Unified Management at Light + Building 20268.3.2026 10:00:00 EET | Press release
Aqara, a global leader and pioneer in IoT, today unveiled its cutting-edge innovations in intelligent space technology at Light + Building 2026 (Hall 9.0, Booth A50). Aqara’s demonstration offers a glimpse into a comprehensive system that offers intelligent lighting control, energy saving, and space security experience for professional usage. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260308903989/en/ Aqara Showcases Scaling Professional-Grade Infrastructure and Unified Management at Light + Building 2026 System-level Intelligent Control Aqara introduces a centralized system solution designed to streamline the management of building deployments at any scale. Moving beyond individual device control, Aqara offers a unified solution that provides architects, facility managers, and developers with a single interface to oversee lighting, environmental sensing, and energy consumption across entire floors or multiple properties
AI Meets Traditional Culture: Huangshan Captures Widespread Attention at ITB Berlin7.3.2026 11:22:00 EET | Press release
Huangshan, one of China’s most iconic scenic destinations, drew significant attention at this year’s ITB by presenting a compelling fusion of traditional Chinese culture and cutting-edge artificial intelligence under the slogan “The world of Huangshan is for the world.” This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260307909978/en/ International visitor admires Huangshan cultural and creative exhibits at the Huangshan stand during ITB Berlin. Located in eastern China’s Anhui Province, Huangshan is famed for its “Five Natural Wonders” — fantastic pines, grotesque rocks, sea of clouds, hot spring and winter snow. The mountain is widely regarded as one of China’s greatest mountain landscapes. It is also a rare natural heritage site that simultaneously holds multiple international designations, including UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage status, a UNESCO Global Geopark and a World Biosphere Reserve. At ITB, the Huangsh
Incyte Announces the European Commission Approval of Zynyz ® (retifanlimab) for the First-Line Treatment of Advanced Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Anal Canal (SCAC)6.3.2026 23:42:00 EET | Press release
Incyte (Nasdaq:INCY) today announced that the European Commission (EC) has approved Zynyz® (retifanlimab) in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel (platinum-based chemotherapy) for the first-line treatment of adult patients with metastatic or with inoperable locally recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal (SCAC). “The EC approval of Zynyz marks an important step forward for patients with advanced SCAC, a rare cancer for which meaningful treatment advances have not occurred in several decades,” said Bill Meury, President and Chief Executive Officer, Incyte. “As the first PD-1 immunotherapy approved in Europe in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy in the first-line setting, Zynyz helps expand the standard-of-care options available to clinicians and underscores our commitment to delivering innovative medicines that can have an impact for patients.” The EC decision follows the January 2026 positive opinion received from the European Medicines Agency’s Committee f
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom