Catalyst Principal Partners, an East African focused private equity firm, has acquired a controlling stake in Zenufa Laboratories, one of the leading pharmaceutical manufacturers in Tanzania.

Martha Osier, Catalyst Investment Manager, said that “the acquisition of Zenufa represents an exciting opportunity which will benefit from the strong fundamentals driving rising demand for quality, affordable healthcare products and services”.

Zenufa manufactures a wide range of over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription medicines for the Tanzanian market, with leading brands including Zenadol, Zenkof, Zn-vital and Dr. Cold.

Zenufa’s factory is recognised by the Tanzania Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) as being fully compliant with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) conforming with international guidelines and systems that ensure high standards in design, monitoring and control of manufacturing processes and facilities.

Osie added: “While the healthcare sector remains dominated by foreign imports representing majority of Tanzania’s medicine supply, as an established local pharmaceutical manufacturer, Zenufa is uniquely positioned to meet the rising healthcare needs of the population through offering affordable, quality medication manufactured to the highest international best practice standards.”

Zenufa offers sustainable social impact by improving health outcomes and through employment of young highly skilled Tanzanian biotechnology graduates.

The company has also partnered with a number of organisations to locally develop affordable medicines for neglected diseases, with high impact in improving health standards in Tanzania.

Commenting on the investment strategy, Rajal Upadhyaya, Catalyst Managing Director, said: “Zenufa represents a platform for growth across Eastern Africa, with opportunities for expanding its product range through development of cost-effective generic drugs formulations and for extending distribution channels nationwide and across the region.”

“With the government of Tanzania promoting local manufacturing, Zenufa also aims to actively support public health programs to improve accessibility in the provision of quality medicines to the population,” he said.

The acquisition of Zenufa is Catalyst’s fourth investment in Tanzania and second investment in the healthcare sector after acquiring Mimosa Pharmacy in 2014, later rebranded “Goodlife Pharmacy”.

Catalyst Principal Partners manages Catalyst Fund I, a $125m private equity fund that invests in high growth mid-sized companies across Eastern Africa, including Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Fund investment range is between $5m and $20m in minority or controlling equity stake with a sector focus that includes: consumer goods and retail, financial and business services, industrials, manufacturing and value-add processing, technology and telecommunications.