With a smart policy shift in place, Nigeria’s growing pharma market is ripe for investment with potential to attract $1.6 billion and create over 44,000 jobs that will strengthen health security, World Bank declared in a new report on Nigeria country private sector diagnostic.
The Nigeria Country Private Sector Diagnostic (CPSD) seeks to unlock private sector-led growth and investment in Nigeria through policy action. The report looks at four sectors where public policy actions could attract private investment: broadband/fiber-optic infrastructure; pharmaceutical manufacturing; solar energy; and cassava and soybeans.
If targeted policy action is taken, the selected sectors according to the report, have the potential to create significant private sector investment opportunities and job creation and are critical to addressing several overarching challenges facing Nigeria, which include: (i) lack of diversification of the economy, (ii) sharp economic and social regional disparities, (iii) growing climate vulnerability, and (iv) high youth unemployment.
On pharmaceuticals, the report notes that Nigeria’s pharmaceutical manufacturing sector has had strong growth (7% annualised), with a projection that, the demand for medicines is expected to increase in the coming years with universal health insurance coverage.
According to the report, “the analysis shows that the growth and value-add to the Nigerian economy can be significant in terms of earnings, employment, and human capital development if customs and HS code classifications are aligned with international standards, NAFDAC digitizes and accelerates drug approval and testing processes, and the government prioritizes local production of essential drugs through updated procurement and pricing strategies. Adopting the policy actions included in this report could generate almost $1.6 billion in new investment and create up to 44,000 jobs”.
With regard to Nigeria’s ICT infrastructure — specifically fiber-optic cables, the report said it offered a compelling investment opportunity, with significant potential for returns. The country’s ongoing digital transformation presents lucrative prospects in fiber-optic networks, driven by a growing demand for digital services across businesses, government, and consumers.
The report concludes that this will require, among other things, improving the capacity of regulatory agencies, enforcing right-of-way fee caps, streamlining licensing for wholesale fiber providers, strengthening the regulatory authority’s oversight of dominant operators, revising infrastructure sharing rules to prevent unreasonable refusals, and launching regional pre-purchase schemes to de-risk investment in underserved areas.
If the policy actions identified in the report are implemented, this could generate up to $4 billion in private investment and create up to 229,000 jobs.
