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The Alternative Bank has launched a financing drive aimed at tackling Nigeria’s deep reliance on imported medicines, as it moves to support local pharmaceutical production and strengthen the country’s fragile medicine security system.
The initiative comes against the backdrop of Africa carrying about a quarter of the global disease burden while importing nearly 97 per cent of its pharmaceutical products, a dependence that was further exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Nigeria, this gap has left medicine supply vulnerable to global shocks, foreign exchange pressures, and rising costs.
Speaking in an interview with the Association of Industrial Pharmacists of Nigeria (NAIP), Group Executive at the bank, Dr. Jekwu Ozoemene, said building local capacity is now a matter of urgency for national survival.
“Pharma and medicine security and sovereignty is essential to Nigeria’s survival,” he said, adding that the bank is ready to work with stakeholders to strengthen domestic production.
As a non-interest financial institution, AltBank said it is deploying asset-backed, risk-sharing financing models that align repayment with business cash flow rather than rigid loan terms. The approach is designed to help pharmaceutical firms scale sustainably while expanding local output of essential drugs.
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The bank is also rolling out targeted healthcare financing solutions, including stock, vendor and distributor financing, supply chain support, and revolving drug funds. It is complementing these with broader systems such as health insurance support, health information platforms, capital market access, and Banking-as-a-Service tools, many of which are being implemented in partnership with state health authorities to improve drug availability and affordability.
Beyond healthcare access, the bank said the strategy is also aimed at easing pressure on Nigeria’s foreign exchange demand by reducing imports, while simultaneously creating jobs across pharmaceutical manufacturing, research, logistics, and distribution.
Dr. Ozoemene noted that the bank’s focus goes beyond funding importers to actively supporting local manufacturers and researchers. “We don’t only want to finance the company that imports the most products,” he said. “We also want to finance industrial pharmacists building WHO-compliant plants and researchers developing treatments tailored to Nigeria’s needs.”
According to the bank, the approach aligns with its non-interest banking principles, prioritising investments that combine financial returns with measurable social impact, particularly in critical sectors like healthcare.
