Biovac lands R1.5B to build Africa's first multi-vaccine factory
What's the deal? BiovacDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a Cape Town-based biopharmaceutical company, has secured R1.47 billion (€75M) in "quasi-equity" investment to build Africa's first end-to-end multi-vaccine manufacturing facility. The backing comes from the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group, the European CommissionDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The deal also unlocks an additional $20M senior loan and further financing from the IFC.
The investment is backed by a European Commission EFSD+ guarantee under the Human Development Accelerator, part of the EU's Global Gateway strategy. Around 50% of the manufacturing equipment will come from European suppliers.
Why now? Africa remains heavily dependent on imported vaccines — a vulnerability the COVID-19 pandemic laid bare. Biovac, founded in 2003 in partnership with the South African government, has delivered more than 450 million vaccine doses across Southern Africa but lacks full end-to-end manufacturing capability.
The new facility, expected to be completed by 2028, will initially produce oral cholera vaccine before expanding to cover polio, pneumonia, and meningitis. Once operational, it could address roughly 40% of the global cholera vaccine supply gap and serve regional markets through procurement channels like UNICEF and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
"Expanding local vaccine development and end-to-end manufacturing on African soil for global supply has always been Biovac's vision, and this funding enables us to accelerate it," said Biovac chief executive Morena Makhoana.
What could go wrong? Greenfield pharmaceutical manufacturing is notoriously complex. Regulatory approvals, technology transfer timelines, and supply chain logistics all pose risks to the 2028 target. The quasi-equity structure — designed to absorb early-stage risk — signals that investors themselves see this as a high-risk, high-reward bet. Sustained demand through procurement partners like UNICEF and Gavi will be critical for long-term viability.
The signal: The entirely public-sector investor lineup — the EIB (a government and non-profit lender), the European Commission, and the IFC — underscores that private capital still largely sits on the sidelines for greenfield vaccine manufacturing in Africa. Biovac, classified as a mature company by Dealroom, has the operational track record to de-risk the project, but the reliance on blended finance and guarantee structures suggests the commercial investment case alone isn't yet strong enough to attract private backers at scale.
Read more: businessreport.co.za
