The new facility, expected to be completed in 2028, will initially manufacture oral cholera vaccines before expanding production to include inactivated polio vaccines (IPV), pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV), and meningitis (MenX) vaccines.
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The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a loan of up to $15 million (around R250m) to South African-based vaccine manufacturer Biovac to support the construction of a new multi-vaccine manufacturing facility in Cape Town, a move expected to strengthen Africa's vaccine production capacity and reduce the continent's reliance on imports.
The AfDB joins a consortium of development finance institutions supporting the expansion.
The financing syndicate is led by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and includes a long-term quasi-equity facility from the Human Development Accelerator (HDX) programme, an initiative backed by the European Union and implemented by the European Investment Bank in partnership with the Gates Foundation. Additional grant funding and technical support from global health partners will facilitate technology transfers to broaden Biovac's vaccine portfolio.
The financing, announced on Friday, forms part of a broader expansion programme that will increase Biovac's annual manufacturing capacity to 500 million vaccine doses, positioning the company as Africa's first end-to-end producer of oral cholera vaccines and South Africa's first local manufacturer of inactivated polio vaccines.
The project comes as Africa continues to import more than 99% of the vaccines used across the continent despite carrying a disproportionate burden of vaccine-preventable diseases. The African Union has set a target of producing 60% of Africa's vaccines locally by 2040.
The new facility, expected to be completed in 2028, will initially manufacture oral cholera vaccines before expanding production to include inactivated polio vaccines (IPV), pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV), and meningitis (MenX) vaccines.
The project will also support South Africa's ambitions to become a continental pharmaceutical manufacturing hub while creating an estimated 340 full-time jobs, with around 43% of positions earmarked for women and 30% for young people.
AfDB vice president for private sector, infrastructure and industrialisation, Solomon Quaynor, said the investment extends beyond expanding production capacity.
"This investment in Biovac is about much more than expanding vaccine production capacity. It is about building Africa's health sovereignty, strengthening regional value chains, and creating industrial capabilities that will enable the continent to respond more effectively to future health emergencies," Quaynor said.
He added that supporting Africa's first end-to-end oral cholera vaccine manufacturing facility and the continent's first local production of inactivated polio vaccines would help transform Africa from a consumer of imported vaccines into a producer of critical healthcare products.
The investment underscores growing efforts by development finance institutions to build pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity across Africa, improve health security, create skilled employment and reduce dependence on imported vaccines while strengthening the continent's preparedness for future disease outbreaks.
Biovac CEO Morena Makhoana described the agreement as a milestone for the continent's healthcare sector.
"We welcome the African Development Bank as a partner in this landmark project and are proud that an institution so central to Africa's development sees in Biovac the same opportunity we see, a chance to fundamentally shift the continent's relationship with its own health security," Makhoana said.
"The project will shift the narrative from majority-imported vaccines to majority-exported vaccines. This is part of changing that reality permanently. This is what Africa's health sovereignty looks like in practice, and we are honoured to be building it."
Biovac was established in 2003 as a partnership with the South African government to develop local vaccine manufacturing capabilities. Based in Cape Town, the company currently manufactures and supplies routine paediatric vaccines and has delivered more than 450 million vaccine doses across Southern Africa, including COVID-19 vaccines.
The expansion will also strengthen skills development within South Africa's biotechnology sector. Biovac plans to expand training programmes in vaccine manufacturing, quality control and regulatory science through partnerships with local universities and regional training institutions.
AfDB director general for Southern Africa and country manager for South Africa, Kennedy Mbekeani, said the investment targets vaccines with the greatest public health impact.
"This project allows one of Africa's most experienced manufacturers to scale up exactly where the need is greatest: vaccines that protect children from cholera, polio, pneumonia and meningitis," Mbekeani said.
The project also aligns with the continent's emerging vaccine financing ecosystem, including Gavi's African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator (AVMA), a $1.2 billion initiative designed to incentivise African vaccine production through milestone payments linked to World Health Organization prequalification and additional support for vaccines supplied through UNICEF procurement programmes.
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