KENYA — In a remarkable revelation at the inaugural Transforming African Medtech Conference, Kenya has solidified its position as a major exporter of medical technology devices in Africa, surpassing Tunisia and Mauritius to claim the fourth spot.

Dr. Victor Konde of the UN Economic Commission for Africa shared this pivotal data during his keynote speech, shedding light on Africa’s burgeoning medtech landscape.

Kenya’s ascent in the realm of medical technology exports is a significant milestone for the nation and the African continent as a whole.

According to Dr. Konde’s presentation, Kenya now accounts for 3.1 percent of Africa’s total medical technology device exports to the global market.

This achievement places Kenya ahead of Tunisia and Mauritius, marking a shift in the dynamics of medtech trade within Africa.

While Kenya’s progress is noteworthy, South Africa remains the undisputed leader in the rankings, commanding a substantial 21.1 percent share of Africa’s medical technology device exports.

Egypt follows closely behind at 6.8 percent, with Morocco holding a 3.5 percent share. These nations have established themselves as influential players in the industry, with Kenya making impressive strides to join their ranks.

Africa’s soaring potential in the global arena

At the recent Transforming African Medtech Conference, the spotlight shone brightly on Africa’s burgeoning medical device sector, revealing a landscape ripe with potential.

With key insights, significant growth, and a push for innovation, the event laid the groundwork for a transformative future in healthcare technology.

Africa’s medical device sector, currently valued at a robust US$600 million annually, has made a significant mark on the global stage, contributing 0.3 percent to the world’s medical device import market.

In a testament to its growth, the industry has seen a remarkable surge of US$189 million over the past five years.

However, despite this remarkable progress, Africa still heavily relies on medical device imports to meet approximately 90 percent of its healthcare needs.

Dr. Konde highlighted that the continent’s medical device imports have reached an astounding US$4 billion, marking a staggering US$1 billion increase over the last five years.

The leading importers within Africa include South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, and Kenya, underscoring the persistent gap between local production and soaring demand.

Global medtech landscape and future projections

Taking a broader perspective, the conference shed light on the global medical devices market, which reached an impressive US$595.4 billion in 2022 and is poised to surge to a staggering US$844.7 billion by 2028.

The field of medical technology is on the cusp of extraordinary growth, with key sectors like telemedicine and e-health projected to skyrocket from US$87.8 billion in 2022 to a whopping US$285.7 billion in 2027.

Other promising segments, including wearable health devices, artificial intelligence, 3D printing in healthcare, and nanodevices, are following suit with equally impressive trajectories.

The Transformative force: African Medtech Conference

The Transforming African Medtech Conference, a dynamic two-day event, united forces through the collaboration of key entities such as Villgro Africa, Jaza Rift Ventures, the Rice360 Institute of Global Health Technologies, Ifakara Innovation Hub, PDP Consortium, and Kenyatta University.

At its heart, the conference aimed to accelerate the development and production of medical devices within Africa by championing local solutions to address sector-specific challenges.

Wambui Gachiengo, Chief Technology Officer at Villgro Africa, underscored the paramount importance of collaboration among diverse stakeholders.

This synergy, which encompasses governments, regulators, academia, and industry players, is seen as pivotal in overcoming Africa’s healthcare hurdles and propelling the medical device sector to greater heights.

Sewu-Steve Tawia, General Partner at Jaza Rift Ventures, highlighted the immense investment potential in Africa’s medical device startup sector, a domain poised to reach an astonishing US$259 billion by 2030, with current investments already totaling US$500 million.

Tawia emphasized that the future of medical device startups hinges on the realm of artificial intelligence (AI) applications in healthcare, spanning tasks from medical record analysis to clinical diagnoses and advanced treatment strategies.

Paul Wainaina, Vice Chancellor of Kenyatta University, issued a compelling call to action, urging the government to bolster its commitment to the medical device sector by allocating increased funds for research and development.

He underscored the pivotal role of technology, including AI and robotics, in enabling the creation of affordable medical devices that can be widely distributed across Africa.

Moreover, addressing the sector’s skills gap emerged as a critical factor influencing its growth.

Khatuchi Kasandi, Director of Invention Education Partnerships at the Rice360 Institute of Global Health Technologies, emphasized the pressing need for institutions to enhance skills development, particularly in fields like biomedical engineering, data science, and AI, to facilitate greater investments and foster the adoption of medical devices throughout Africa.

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