"Last time there was a pandemic, we were on WhatsApp begging for Pfizer leftovers. This time, we have a lab with the same machines. I'm not saying we've won, but at least we're in the game now."
The One Who Remembers COVID
Remember 2021?
When we watched Europe roll out third doses while Africa waited for first ones. We watched rich countries hoard vaccines while hospitals here ran out. We watched the world move on while we stayed locked down, not because we lacked money or people or intelligence, but because we lacked manufacturing capacity.
We had to wait. And wait. And wait.
Yesterday, that changed.
On Thursday, November 6, South Africa opened a state-of-the-art vaccine development lab in Cape Town, backed by the Gates Foundation and equipped with the same mRNA technology that powered those COVID vaccines the world fought over. But here's what makes this different: This lab doesn't just package imported vaccines. It designs them. From scratch. For diseases that kill Africans.
This is what sovereignty looks like when you stop waiting and start building.
THE NUMBERS THAT TELL THE STORY
Right now, Africa imports 99% of its vaccines, despite consuming roughly 25% of the world's vaccine doses due to high disease burden. Let that sink in. We're one of the world's largest vaccine markets, but we make almost none of them ourselves.
During COVID, that dependence was humiliating. By September 2021, less than 2% of global COVID vaccine doses went to Africa, even though we have 17% of the world's population. Europe and the UK had vaccinated over 60% of their people. High-income countries had administered 48 times more doses per person than low-income nations.
We weren't slow because we were unprepared. We were slow because we were last in line. Because when you don't make it, you don't control it.
The African Union saw this and set a target: Africa as a continent should produce 60% of the vaccines it needs by 2040. Up from less than 1% today.
That's 60% for the continent, not each country. The strategy isn't for every African nation to build its own vaccine factory. It's smarter than that, it is to have 3-5 specialized manufacturing hubs that will produce vaccines to supply the entire continent through coordinated regional networks.
And Biovac's new lab just made South Africa the first of those hubs to go fully operational.
THE HUB STRATEGY: WHO'S BUILDING WHAT
Under the African Union's Partnership for African Vaccine Manufacturing (PAVM) framework, five countries have been designated as continental vaccine hubs:
South Africa (Southern Africa hub):
- Biovac (opened yesterday): Full end-to-end R&D, mRNA capability, targets TB, cholera, childhood vaccines
- Aspen Pharmacare: Already doing advanced manufacturing, including COVID vaccine production under license
Senegal (West Africa hub):
- Institut Pasteur Dakar: Being expanded for yellow fever vaccines and broader regional development, also developing mRNA capacity through WHO's tech transfer program
Egypt (North Africa hub):
- VACSERA: State-owned, investing in domestic and pan-African production, partnerships with Chinese and Russian vaccine developers
Morocco (North Africa hub):
- Ramped up local vaccine filling and finishing capacity, positioning as second North African production center
Nigeria (West Africa hub):
- Investing in local vaccine R&D and manufacturing infrastructure, though capabilities still under development compared to the others
The idea is that these five hubs will specialize, coordinate, and supply the continent. Not every country needs its own factory. But every region needs reliable access to at least one.
WHAT BIOVAC'S LAB CAN ACTUALLY DO
Biovac started two decades ago as a distributor, importing childhood vaccines and putting them in vials (the "fill and finish" stage). Over time, they moved up the value chain. Now, with this new facility, they can go end-to-end: designing vaccine candidates, testing them, manufacturing the active ingredients, and producing the final product.
The tech inside:
- mRNA capability (the same technology behind Pfizer and Moderna's COVID vaccines)
- Nanoparticle formulation suites (to safely wrap and protect mRNA)
- Bacterial and cell culture labs (to grow vaccine components)
- Drug substance development infrastructure (to create active ingredients from scratch)
This makes Biovac one of the most advanced vaccine R&D facilities in Africa, joining a small network of continental hubs with end-to-end capability.
What they're targeting first:
- Tuberculosis (Africa carries 25% of the global TB burden)
- Oral cholera vaccine (technology transfer began January 2023, trial batches expected 2024, licensing projected 2026)
- Childhood vaccines currently imported: polio, tetanus, diphtheria, hepatitis B
- mRNA platform development for future pandemics and African-specific diseases
The timelines are ambitious but grounded in current work: trial batches in 2024, regulatory approval targeted for 2026, with commercial vaccines possible by 2027 if development and approvals proceed as planned.
WHY THE GATES FOUNDATION IS BETTING ON THIS
The Gates Foundation contributed $5 million directly to Biovac as part of a $40 million pan-African vaccine initiative that also supports other hub manufacturers across the continent. The European Union and German government are also funding the project, though specific amounts haven't been disclosed.
Mark Suzman, CEO of the Gates Foundation, attended yesterday's opening ceremony. His message was clear: "For millions of people across the continent, this lab brings the promise of faster, more reliable access to lifesaving vaccines, developed and produced in Africa, for Africa."
Translation: They're betting that regional manufacturing capacity equals health security. And that health security equals economic sovereignty.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU
If you're in biotech or pharma:
Biovac is actively hiring: QA analysts, microbiologists, technical operations specialists, biological testing experts. These aren't future positions, they're current openings for a lab that just went operational. Watch also for hiring at the other four continental hubs (Senegal, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria) as they scale up.
If you're in policy or development:
This hub strategy is how you solve a continental problem without requiring 54 countries to duplicate infrastructure. Specialization + coordination + shared investment = efficiency.
If you're anywhere else:
Next time there's a pandemic, Africa won't be at the back of the queue begging for donations. We'll have options, five regional hubs, each capable of rapid response. That's not charity. That's infrastructure.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: AFRICA IS TIRED OF WAITING
COVID was a wake-up call. Not because the virus was uniquely deadly here, Africa actually recorded lower death rates than many regions. But because the response exposed how little control we had over our own health security.
Europe and America could vaccinate their populations quickly because they made the vaccines. Africa had to wait for donations, fight for COVAX allocations, and watch doses expire on tarmacs because delivery schedules kept shifting.
That's what happens when you're a consumer, not a producer. You wait. You beg. You take what you're given.
The hub strategy is a statement: We're done waiting.
Not just for vaccines. For everything. Payment rails. Processing capacity. Data centers. Manufacturing plants.
The pattern is clear: Countries and regions building specialized infrastructure today, whether it's South Africa (vaccines), Kenya (digital infrastructure), Rwanda (manufacturing), or Côte d'Ivoire (agro-processing), are positioning themselves to control their own destinies in 2030 and beyond.
And critically, they're doing it together. Five hubs serving 54 countries is smarter than 54 countries each trying to build everything alone.
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT
- 2024: Oral cholera vaccine trial batches from Biovac (in progress)
- 2025-2026: Other hubs scaling up (watch Senegal's Institut Pasteur Dakar, Egypt's VACSERA)
- 2026: Regulatory approvals targeted for first Africa-designed vaccines
- 2026-2027: First commercial vaccines from continental hubs (if development proceeds on track)
These are aspirational timelines that depend on successful trials, regulatory approvals, sustained investment, and coordination among the five hubs. But they're grounded in real work happening right now.
Your task: Track which hubs hit production milestones first. Watch whether the regional coordination actually works (can Senegal's hub supply West Africa efficiently? Can South Africa's hub serve Southern Africa reliably?). And pay attention to which countries outside the five hubs invest in the network versus trying to build solo.
Because the countries that understand regional specialization will pull ahead faster than those that try to do everything themselves.
QUICK SUMMARY
Africa imports 99% of its vaccines. By 2040, that should drop to 40%.
Biovac's lab opened yesterday in Cape Town, is how we get there.
It's backed by $5 million from Gates (part of a $40 million pan-African push). It has full mRNA capability. It's hiring now. And it's targeting diseases that actually kill Africans, not just copying Western vaccines for Western diseases.
Trial batches start in 2024. Regulatory approval in 2026. Commercial vaccines by 2027.
This is not just about vaccines. It's about what kind of continent we're building, one that waits for the world to save it, or one that builds the infrastructure (and the networks) to save itself.
Decode Daily is Africa's smartest read for next-gen professionals. We simplify business, economy, and culture, connecting the dots between what's happening and what it means for you.
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Stay sharp,
The Decode Daily Team
SOURCES & READ MORE 📚
- Reuters - “Biovac opens new vaccine lab in Cape Town to boost Africa’s manufacturing capacity” (November 6, 2025)
https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/biovac-opens-new-vaccine-lab-cape-town-boost-africas-manufacturing-capacity-2025-11-06/ - African Union - “Signing of new agreement to drive vaccine impact in Africa” (May 2023)
https://au.int/en/pressreleases/20230515/signing-new-agreement-drive-vaccine-impact-africa
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