DAR ES SALAAM: TANZANIA is positioning itself as an emerging pharmaceutical manufacturing hub in Africa as a high-level government delegation participates in CPHI China 2026 in Shanghai to attract global drug manufacturers, active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) producers and contract manufacturing partners.
The delegation, drawn from Tanzania’s Pharmaceutical Investment Acceleration Taskforce (PIAT), was attending the three-day pharmaceutical trade fair at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre from last Tuesday to Thursday.
It was led by Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health responsible for Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices, Emmanuel Tayari.
CPHI China is one of Asia’s leading pharmaceutical industry exhibitions, bringing together suppliers, manufacturers, buyers and other stakeholders from across the global pharmaceutical value chain.
Tanzania used the platform to showcase investment opportunities and attract companies interested in establishing manufacturing facilities to serve both domestic and regional markets.
During the opening days of the exhibition, Tanzania’s pavilion attracted investors from several countries who expressed interest in partnerships covering pharmaceutical manufacturing, APIs, vaccines, injectable medicines, biological products and the production of internationally compliant essential medicines.
The government is highlighting a series of reforms aimed at creating a more attractive investment environment for pharmaceutical manufacturers.
These include regulatory improvements, investment incentives, enhanced procurement of locally produced health products and the development of dedicated pharmaceutical industrial zones.
“Tanzania is ready to become a pharmaceutical manufacturing hub in Africa. The direction is clear. The commitment is firm. The time is now,” Minister for Health Mohamed Omary Mchengerwa said.
Officials say Tanzania’s investment case is supported by strong and growing market demand. Domestic demand for medicines is projected to increase more than fourfold over the next 15 years, rising from approximately 131 million packs in the 2024/25 financial year to more than 600 million packs by 2039/40.
The anticipated growth is expected to be driven in part by the implementation of universal health insurance, which aims to expand health coverage from about eight per cent of the population to 62 per cent within the next five years. PIAT officials are also presenting Tanzania’s regulatory environment as a key competitive advantage.
The Tanzania Medicines and Medical Devices Authority (TMDA) is described by the government as the first national medicines regulatory authority in Africa to attain the World Health Organisation’s Maturity Level 3 status. In addition, registration timelines for locally manufactured pharmaceutical products have been reduced to 60 days.
The delegation is promoting demand certainty through the Medical Stores Department (MSD), which procures health commodities worth approximately 491 million US dollars annually for more than 8,800 health facilities nationwide.
The procurement framework includes a 15 per cent price preference for local manufacturers and provisions for long-term supply contracts.
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To support industrial expansion, Tanzania has designated pharmaceutical industrial sites at Mloganzila and Kibaha.
The government has also committed 10 million US dollars toward establishing a shared quality-control and bioequivalence laboratory to strengthen local production capacity.
Through PIAT’s “Green Lane” fast-track mechanism, approvals relating to licensing, land acquisition, taxation, regulation and product registration are processed simultaneously rather than sequentially.
The initiative is designed to reduce bureaucracy, shorten approval timelines and improve the ease of doing business for strategic investors.
Tanzania is particularly seeking investment in the production of APIs and excipients, areas where officials say there is currently no manufacturing capacity within the East African Community (EAC).
Other priority investment areas include vaccines and biological products, small-volume injectables and essential medicines produced to World Health Organisation Good Manufacturing Practice (WHO-GMP) standards. Officials are also marketing Tanzania as a strategic gateway to regional pharmaceutical markets.
As a member of both the East African Community and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Tanzania offers potential access to a combined market of more than 780 million people. Additional opportunities are expected to emerge through the implementation of the African Medicines Agency treaty.
Mr Mchengerwa said the government is committed to protecting compliant local manufacturers through supportive procurement, tariff and regulatory policies.
“No investor will be asked to build factories in Tanzania only to be undermined by unfair competition from imported products. Those days are over,” he said.