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Backed by fresh European financing, BioNTech’s Kigali facility is emerging as the cornerstone of Africa’s mRNA vaccine ecosystem, bridging the gap between ambition and large-scale production.
A new European financial backing of BioNTech’s mRNA vaccine facility in Kigali marks a defining step in Africa’s long-term pursuit of health and industrial self-reliance, moving the continent’s vaccine manufacturing ambitions from concept to implementation.
This month, on October 13, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Commission announced a €95 million (approximately US$126 million) blended financing package to accelerate construction of BioNTech’s state-of-the-art mRNA vaccine manufacturing site in Rwanda.
The package, comprising a €35 million (US$47 million) grant and up to €60 million (US$80 million) in loans, forms part of the EU’s Global Gateway strategy and builds on the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations’ (CEPI) earlier €130 million commitment to the project.
According to sector analysts, the financing is a vital development that could bridge one of the biggest gaps in Africa’s vaccine production journey: access to long-term, risk-tolerant capital.
Michael Olilo, a genetic engineer at KEMRI’s Centre for Biotechnology Research and Development (CBRD), views the deal as a demonstration of how financing can move Africa’s vaccine ambitions from vision to execution.
“Financing has always been the biggest barrier between vision and implementation, and what makes this transaction significant is that it avails much-needed capital while retaining ownership and operational capacity on the continent,” he said.
The EIB financing is structured under the EU’s Human Development Accelerator and the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus, signalling a shift in how large-scale health infrastructure is funded in Africa.
The Kigali facility is the cornerstone of a continental mRNA vaccine ecosystem. Using modular BioNTainer units, the site will produce vaccines for diseases with the highest economic and health toll on Africa, including malaria, tuberculosis, HIV, and mpox.
The first units were shipped to Rwanda in 2023, and pilot production is expected to begin in 2026. Once operational, the facility will serve both research and commercial functions, manufacturing clinical trial materials, creating high-value jobs, and transferring advanced biotechnology know-how to local experts.
Oluoch noted that BioNTech’s modular approach “aligns well with Africa’s evolving industrial financing logic… The BioNTainer model is capital-efficient and scalable, allowing production to adapt to demand while ensuring that both knowledge and value creation remain rooted in African economies.”
The Kigali investment signals a broader structural shift in how Africa’s health sector is being industrialised, through blended financing, policy alignment, and local entrepreneurship.
Africa’s dependence on imported vaccines, exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighted its structural health vulnerabilities. In 2022, less than 1% of vaccines used across the continent were produced locally, according to the African Union.
However, the pandemic also turned Africa’s vaccine agenda from ambition to action.
In 2021, African Union members set a target to produce 60% of all vaccines used on the continent by 2040, a goal reaffirmed at the Africa CDC’s Vaccine Manufacturing Forum in Cairo in February 2025.
The forum established the Platform for Harmonised African Health Manufacturing (PHAHM) to align policy, capital, and coordination. Momentum is now squarely on execution.
In December 2024, the International Finance Corporation led a US$45 million financing package, comprising US$15 million in IFC loans and US$30 million from partners including the African Development Bank and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, to expand the Institut Pasteur de Dakar’s MADIBA facility.
The investment will triple output by 2026 and add new antigen lines, positioning Senegal as West Africa’s vaccine export hub.
In southern Africa, targeted R&D funding is driving innovation. In January 2025, CEPI announced a US$62 million grant to Afrigen Biologics to develop a human mRNA vaccine against Rift Valley fever, the first of its kind globally.
Building on the WHO’s mRNA technology transfer programme in Cape Town, the project is de-risking research while preparing for regional scale-up.
Egypt is following suit. In March 2025, Vaccine Biotechnology City and local manufacturer MEVAC partnered with Batavia Biosciences to begin local production of measles-rubella and rotavirus vaccines.
The initiative, which complements the India–Egypt pharmaceutical cooperation framework, aims to reduce imports and serve regional markets.
Smaller African biomanufacturers are also scaling up. Rwanda’s Bio-Usawa is deploying modular production units alongside BioNTech’s BioNTainer system near Kigali’s biopharma hub.
In Kenya, Daktari Biotechnology is investing in vaccine and diagnostic production for malaria and other infectious diseases, aligned with the Africa CDC’s New Public Health Order and national industrial goals. Together, these ventures are transforming health innovation into industrial and employment growth.
Institutional frameworks are reinforcing this momentum. The Cairo Communiqué formalised the African Pooled Procurement Mechanism (APPM), backed by Afreximbank and UNECA, to aggregate vaccine purchases and secure predictable demand for local producers. It also called on Gavi and UNICEF to source at least 30% of their African vaccine portfolios locally.
Gavi’s US$1.2 billion African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator, launched in 2024, now provides direct incentives for WHO-prequalified manufacturers, bridging the gap between regulatory readiness and market entry.
According to the Africa CDC, more than 30 vaccine manufacturing projects are now active across Africa. At the same time, Africa’s clinical research ecosystem is being modernised to complement the continent’s growing production capacity.
The economic rationale is clear. The Global Fund’s Zero Malaria Economy report estimates that if malaria control efforts were to collapse, Africa could lose over US$83 billion in GDP by 2030, but if elimination succeeds, the continent could gain more than US$231 billion in economic benefits.
The African Development Bank projects that Africa’s vaccine market will expand from US$1.3 billion in 2022 to about US$5 billion by 2030, driven by population growth, public health spending, and regional demand.
“Africa needs more purpose-built facilities like the Kigali project and a wider mix of investors to accelerate vaccine manufacturing on the continent; replicating Kigali’s model is how Africa will scale vaccine production,” said Oluoch.
Credit: Bonface Orucho, Bird Story Agency
