Africa’s population is set to double by 2050. Its urban population will triple, and 40 percent of its total population will be younger than 15. The economy will need to add jobs - and lots of them.
The manufacturing sector provides an answer. If developed in a strategic and resilient way, a competitive manufacturing sector could play a vital role in helping Africa reach its full potential in the global economy.
Working closely with a variety of stakeholders—investors, manufacturers, governments, and others—the consortium began catalyzing inclusive economic transformation, building sustainable institutions through transaction and technical assistance, and developing capacity among the continent’s investment promotion agencies to raise funds fairly.
Manufacturing Africa does not offer direct funding. The program instead catalyzes inclusive growth by attracting foreign-direct investment to companies and projects transforming the economies of Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal and Rwanda.
Twenty-eight manufacturing deals have already been closed through Manufacturing Africa, which has attracted more than $850 million in foreign-direct investment, creating more than 16,000 jobs.
In total, 135 deals are being supported through the program, or are in progress . This is creating a $2 billion investment pipeline set to produce at least 30,000 jobs across the green economy, packaging, agro-processing, textiles and apparel, consumer electronics, and more.
Sustainability
$21M
growth-capital
in Ethiopia's largest consumer packaged goods platform
Ethiopia is a leading producer and exporter of oil seeds, but the country spends around $600 million per year on edible oil imports.
Seeing opportunity in this imbalance, 54 Capital, an Africa-focused asset manager, worked with Manufacturing Africa to make a $21 million growth-capital investment in SAMANU, Ethiopia's largest consumer-packaged goods platform.
The investment will be used to build a new plant that will enable the production of edible oil from locally available seeds such as soya, sunflower, groundnut, cottonseed, and sesame. With a daily crushing capacity of 200 tons, the plant will increase the production of SAMANU's leading edible oil brand by 130 percent and create over 200 new jobs. In addition, the company plans to export animal feed as a by-product to generate foreign exchange earnings.
Local farmers are also benefiting from Manufacturing Africa’s work with 54 Capital. The new plant operations will draw on crops from 7,000 smallholder farms, thanks to the development of a local sourcing strategy. SAMANU’s Chief Supply Chain Officer has begun implementing the sourcing strategy, collaborating with organizations like the Agricultural Transformation Institute.
Today, they are on their way to collect 55,000 tons of oil seed crops across 2023 and engage over 2,000 farmers, eventually reaching 5,000 to 7,000 farmers at full capacity.
Inclusivity
2+
major partnerships
including the Africa CDC and Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations
15
new manufacturers
via production deals and investors
Less than 1 percent of all vaccines used in Africa are locally manufactured today.
The continent’s reliance on vaccine imports has been due to several constraints to local production, including demand uncertainty, weak regulatory environments, restricted access to finance, and limited local talent.
Manufacturing Africa has worked to catalyze local vaccine production on a range of fronts, work that began by creating an economic opportunity map that forecast demand across countries, cost comparisons among various vaccine types, expansion models, and guidance from lessons learned from production in other emerging markets.
The initiative then identified critical stakeholders—and worked to move them to action. In 2021, Manufacturing Africa supported the convening of the first African Vaccines Manufacturing Summit hosted by the Africa CDC. There, more than 30 stakeholder discussions were conducted with the explicit aim of securing tangible commitments for vaccine manufacturing.
The effort helped create a pipeline of production deals, including identifying anchor investors for 15 new manufacturers, and forged key partnerships, including between the Africa CDC and Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, and between Afreximbank and the Africa Finance Corporation.
Multiple stakeholders also announced plans to support the strengthening of vaccine manufacturing initiatives in Africa. The African Union, for example, announced the launch of the Partnership for Africa Vaccine Manufacturing (PAVM), that will lead the agenda setting and coordination of efforts on the continent going forward. It was a critical initial step, paving the way for more action at scale.
Growth
80%
of global vehicle sales
are expected to be electric by 2050
$11.8m
in new investment
secured by Roam
>60
commercial clients
in Kenya and East Africa
EVs are potentially much cheaper to run, and, in a continent set for increasing urbanization, less polluting and noisy within city environments.
As the electric vehicle (EV) industry continues to grow— 80 percent of global vehicle sales are expected to be electric by 2050— demand in East Africa has also been building. Roam produces electric motorcycles, charging infrastructure and technology that converts fossil fuel powered vehicles to electric. Founded out of a research project in Sweden in 2017, the company has grown rapidly, deploying e-mobility products and solutions to more than 60 commercial clients in Kenya and East Africa.
The company worked with Manufacturing Africa as it set about planning an ambitious expansion phase to increase its manufacturing capacity of locally produced electric vehicles and motorcycles. The aim was to develop a clear business plan for entering new markets, and secure investment to do so.
Key to this was understanding the market dynamics for EVs in focus countries across Africa: Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Ethiopia. They wanted to understand the market size and emerging trends in each country, as well as who the key players were in each step of the EV value chain. They also wanted support in attracting new investment.
Manufacturing Africa provided an overview of the value chain, highlighting opportunities to work with local partners, as well as market potential estimates, based on methodologies developed by the McKinsey Centre for Future Mobility. They also developed a shortlist of investors whom Roam could consider for outreach, and preparation for potential questions from investors.
This advice led the company to shift their focus, and adopt more of a phased approach to expansion, firming up their core markets before planning wider expansion into other territories. This business plan became a key part of their approach to investors, and, following their work with Manufacturing Africa, Roam secured $11.8m in new investment. The company also played a role contributing to the Kenyan government’s circular economy policy, when they presented their work to Kenya’s Business Situation Room (BSR), an initiative driven by Manufacturing Africa.
