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The pharmaceutical industry is currently at its peak, and as the number of health conditions doubles every four years, demand will only increase in the future. With the production and distribution of top-notch critical medicines in Africa, Africure Pharmaceuticals Limited (APL) has brought about a dramatic revolution. Incubated in 2017, under the stewardship of Mr. Sinhue B. Noronha, the CEO & Founder, APL deals with the manufacturing and export of pharmaceuticals and healthcare products.
Mr. Noronha, a seasoned professional with over 40 years of experience in the African pharmaceutical industry, has established numerous manufacturing facilities and enterprises throughout the continent in addition to holding leadership roles in major multinational pharmaceutical corporations.
At age 20, he began working in the pharmaceutical sector as a medical representative at the bottom of the career ladder. He promptly rose to positions such as product executive, manager, senior manager, marketing manager, and controller of marketing. His early career was spent in start-ups, where he had the chance to launch businesses for three different groups of entrepreneurs, of which two succeeded and one failed. Mr. Noronha was a resource up until this point, with a basic understanding of manufacturing and a reasonable amount of marketing knowledge of the Indian context. He started making and exporting pharmaceutical formulations at the age of 30 to customers in Europe and Africa. Mr. Noronha eventually rose to the position of leadership in the pharmaceutical sector and developed a number of companies in Africa to a crucial level.
“In 1991, I decided to establish my own company, Simrone Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., which focused on getting orders from German and British buyers who bought products under their labels and sold them to Africans with hefty margins. It was at this point that I made a significant advancement in my understanding of exports, and in 1996, I launched my first plant in Mumbai, India, which was wholly focused on exports. When asked about the start of his entrepreneurial journey, Mr. Noronha said, “In 2007, I received an offer from a large India-based global player to buy my asset on the condition that I run their Africa business, which I did and took from a Turnover of USD 5.0 million when I joined to USD 65 million when I retired at the age of 58.
The Tale of APL’s Incorporation and Establishment
“Being still active and energetic, I believed that there was no point in retiring and that I could put all my experience and learnings to use for the upliftment of the poor, and hence I chose Africa, the poorest of all the poorest continents. I believed we could make a substantial difference in a high-impact, sustainable business of manufacturing formulations in Africa by Africans for Africans,”, stated the inspiring leader.
As a result, he completed a management buyout of all the manufacturing assets of the global multinational with headquarters in India in March 2017. To do this, he raised approximately USD $12 million from HNIs he knew and who was also familiar with the African pharmaceutical industry. He sold 48% to them and retained 52% for his team and himself.
Africure Pharmaceuticals Ltd., with headquarters in Mauritius, was founded in April 2017 and has 200 highly motivated employees who work in all areas of the pharmaceutical industry, including manufacturing, quality management systems, engineering, sales, and marketing. Most importantly, they have a wealth of experience in the markets they were selected for.
Remarkable Changes by Africure Pharmaceuticals Limited
The company Africure Pharmaceutical is dedicated to bringing manufacturing resources and technological capabilities to the smaller sub-Saharan African markets, where the locals are taught to produce pharmaceutical formulations in their own nation and at their facility. 3.0 billion units per year’s worth of industrial capacity have been united by them. They stick to the required product list and have 80 compounds, with more than 350 and 100 in the pipeline. They make Africans healthier, resulting in more man-hours on the job and better incomes, thus improving the quality of their lives.
Hurdles Along the Way
Doing business in Africa can be difficult in general, and doing business in the pharmaceutical industry is much more challenging due to complex regulatory and statutory norms and regulations that vary from country to country. Other difficulties include those related to political stability, currency devaluations, trade restrictions, fake goods, etc. In order to prevent these difficulties from affecting our business, Mr. Noronha and his team have devised techniques that help them negotiate whenever and wherever they can.
Leadership Approach
You got that right! In such a disorienting setting, leadership is challenging, and in order to grow, the leader must be both mentally sharp and physically fit. Loyalty, commitment, dedication, and other qualities every leader should anticipate in a successful team. Mr. Noronha asserts, “I am due to my amazing team. To maintain their constant motivation, I am constantly on the move, meeting as many people as I can, learning about their struggles, offering advice when necessary, and fostering a sense of one huge family working towards a shared goal. Despite the fact that my family is in India, I spend more than 200 days there and may do almost 100 flights a year.”
Expansion Binge and Road Ahead
The company’s short-term objective is to generate USD 50 million in turnover over the next two years, which will increase its valuation to USD 100 million or more. They also want to construct a new plant every two years, which, when it is fully operational, will generate a turnover of USD 12 million. Thus, in 5 years, they would have a 75 million dollar turnover and a 150 million dollar valuation. APL’s long-term objective appears to consist of a bouquet of 8–9 plans, 500 registrants, and a dedicated workforce of 1000 individuals.
Bringing Disruptive Thinking
Sinhue B. Noronha entered Africa when people were hesitant to do so, developed 10 pharmaceutical manufacturing plants (three of which were later sold), and invested in capex with the help of my shareholders and term lenders, Proparco and Blue Peak. He imported technology and skilled labor from India and taught Africans how to manufacture vast quantities of pharmaceuticals. They create 100 million units every day, or more than enough to cover the population of the Sahara today and every working day. Thus, disruptive thoughts and techniques can arise from the mind as well as from disruptive technology. Today, Africare is the sole company with seven manufacturing facilities spread throughout various African nations; they figured out how to stay ahead of the curve.
A Piece of Advice to Aspiring Business Leaders
Mr. Noroha concludes the discussion with a piece of advice for budding entrepreneurs: “Life is one big circle; you can always start at the finish.” You must have a strong mind, have confidence in your abilities, assemble a talented team, and pursue your passion or dream tenaciously. Keep in mind that success depends on finding yourself in the right location at the right moment. It doesn’t approach your door on foot. If you fall, get back up, look at your mistakes as lessons learned, and have faith that opportunities will present themselves in the future. Search for them.”
