TFHC AFRICA

Are you looking to learn more about the latest Life Sciences & Health (LSH) market trends in Africa? When doing business in Africa you need to have a good sense of the local context and finance mechanisms. We happily share our knowledge and information about current and future activities related to Africa. There’s already a lot of international business activity in this continent, but in order to be successful, you need to have a long breath.

What can we offer you?

TFHC Africa consists of a big network and works in close cooperation with the Dutch Ministry of Health, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) and the Dutch Diplomatic Network in Africa to combine Dutch strengths in the Life Sciences & Health sector and to sustain and improve the relationship with African countries.

Although every organization’s international journey is unique, our help is welcome, as we:

have partners with specific and complementary expertise on interventions that improve health systems and services, especially in African countries;
have a network with LSH knowledge from institutes, industry, and NGO’s that have proven their value in healthcare worldwide;
assist to pursue comprehensive, innovative, and sustainable health sector developments;
assist with launching pilots of your business model to find quality cooperation partners.

What do we want to achieve?

We want to maximize our contribution to achieve SDG3 good health and well-being in Africa. That is why we are always looking for projects and programs with a sustainable impact, which requires mobilization and allocation of funding, and sustainable financing models for healthcare to be developed. Dutch knowledge, experience and solutions can be deployed to combat global challenges.

These combined strengths lie in the provision of meaningful solutions for three high-burden global healthcare challenges:

The reduction of mother and child mortality and morbidity.
The prevention and treatment of communicable diseases.
The control of non-communicable diseases.

What’s our intention?

Stimulate collaboration and knowledge sharing;
Respect the local needs and demands in the LSH sector in Africa;
Engage international organizations, (local) health authorities, the (local) private sector, and other stakeholders involved in optimizing healthcare;
Encourage structurally strengthening health care systems and making them resilient with an integrated approach.

What have we done so far?

In Africa there are already many Dutch companies, knowledge institutions and NGO’s operating that focus especially on infectious diseases, medical devices, development cooperation and care projects in low-resource settings.
On 21 October 2022, the Dutch government has presented the first Dutch Global Health Strategy 2023-2030. TFHC has provided input for the development of the strategy. We welcome this new strategy and are pleased that the importance of globally strengthening health systems has been emphasized and formalized by the new strategy. We are looking forward to collaborating, together with our partners from the Dutch life sciences & health business community, knowledge institutions, and NGOs with international activities, in moving forward on the implementation of the Global Health Strategy.

Downloads

In 2016 we launched a Report about the Health Care Sector in Kenia. In 2021 this report was updated, specifically focusing on the opportunities in the subsectors of Medical Devices and eHealth.

Previous events

November 7 – November 10, 2022
Kenya | Life Sciences and Health Mission
October 18 – October 21, 2022
Nigeria | Incoming delegation
19 September, 2022
Health~Holland Meet-up | Kenya and Nigeria
2 June, 2022
Health~Holland | Financing International Health Projects Seminar
September 16, 2021 – December 31, 2021
Health~Holland International Strategy | Reconnecting with priority markets
March 31, 2021
South Africa | NL Health~Holland Digital meet-up
February 8, 2021 – July 31, 2021
Health~Holland International Strategy | Reconnecting with priority markets
December 15, 2020
East-Africa | Health~Holland Digital meet-up
Annually in September
Incoming delegation of African stakeholders in healthcare as part of the Health~Holland Visitors Programme

What trends do we see in Africa?

In our International Business Research done in 2022, we have seen the following trends:

In Africa there are already many Dutch companies, knowledge institutions and NGO’s operating. These organizations focus especially on infectious diseases, medical devices and development cooperation in low-resource settings.
Health care systems are characterized by low expenditure for public health institutions, emerging private health care providers and internationally funded programs and projects.
Digital transformation is an important method provide health care more efficient, cheaper and at the right place and time.
Governments, regional and international organizations, like the African Development Bank and the Global Fund, mobilize resources to strengthen healthcare infrastructure.

Regions

South Africa

Fact: South Africa has the most developed economy and health care market of the continent.
Difficulty: It’s hard to get financing to increase the quality and accessibility of the health care sector.
Chance: In the private sector there are chances in the field of digitalization and vitality.
The next years, we’ll:
- help the position and further construction of the ecosystem to strengthen the successful cooperation with South Africa.
- work towards a more permanent, structural impact on African health care systems.

East Africa

Fact: Kenya is the local economic innovation hub and the gateway to other countries in East Africa, especially Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda.
Difficulty: There’s a political unrest in Ethiopia that makes it hard to do business in Ethiopia.
Chance: Kenya focuses on digitalization. At the same time, the private sector is developing, It’s expected that the health care market become more mature in the next 5-8 years.
The next years, we’ll:
- build further and strengthen existing relations with stakeholders in the African health care sector.
- help new entrants to the African market by sharing knowledge and networks.
- explore the possibilities of organizing more trade-related activities towards Kenya, and the broader East African region.

West Africa

Fact: Nigeria has the biggest economy and population of Africa.
Difficulty: It’s hard to do business in Nigeria. And although Ghana has a more stable economy and politics and has good relations with the Netherlands, there are less possibilities than in Nigeria.
Chance: The private sector in Nigeria is upcoming.
The next years, we’ll:
- explore the possibilities of organizing trade-related activities towards Nigeria.

Moreover, we will continuously be involved in the implementation of the Dutch Global Health Strategy and the development of the Global Health Hub.

Did we catch your interest, or do you have questions?

Fantastic! Feel free to contact us if you want to receive more information or if you have follow-up questions. Please fill in our contact form or email sterre.bergman@tfhc.nl and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible!