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Funding supports end-to-end vaccine manufacturing capacity in Africa
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Plant aims to fill 40% of global cholera vaccine shortage
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The project is in line with the African Union's goal of promoting local production
South African biopharmaceutical company BioVac has secured €95 million (about $112.4 million) from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) to build Africa's first end-to-end vaccine manufacturing facility.
The financing package was arranged by IFC, the private sector arm of the World Bank, which provided a €20 million senior loan. According to a joint statement issued on 16 April, the EIB contributed €75 million in quasi-equity financing. Additional funds are still being raised.
The EIB's quasi-equity investment, delivered under the European Commission-supported Human Development Accelerator (HDX) program in partnership with the Gates Foundation, is designed to provide long-term, flexible capital while sharing project risks.
The plant, which is expected to be completed in 2028, aims to strengthen vaccine production capacity on the continent, improve access to essential vaccinations and enhance preparedness for future pandemics. Initial production will focus on oral cholera vaccines, with plans to expand to polio, pneumonia and meningitis vaccines.
Once operational, the facility is expected to produce 30 million to 40 million doses annually, which will address approximately 40% of the global cholera vaccine supply gap and supply to regional markets through channels such as UNICEF and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
A strategic incentive for local production
The project is expected to create more than 340 skilled jobs and approximately 7,000 indirect jobs while supporting technology transfer and innovation in the vaccine value chain.
It also aligns with the African Union's goal of increasing locally produced vaccines from about 1% today to 60% by 2040. Achieving this goal will require coordinated efforts by governments, donors, multilateral institutions, and private sector initiatives such as Biovac.
Biovac, which is 47.5% owned by two South African public agencies, currently supplies vaccines for the country's national immunization programme. After initially focusing on the distribution of imported vaccines, the company has gradually expanded into “fill and finish” operations – the final stage of vaccine production.
The company makes vaccines targeting diseases such as tuberculosis, tetanus, diphtheria, polio, Haemophilus influenzae and hepatitis B. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it partnered with Pfizer and BioNTech to produce vaccines for the African Union.
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