Healthcare Rising analysed 12 months of employee headcount data across 50 pharmaceutical companies operating in Africa. We used LinkedIn workforce data to produce the first sector-wide employee growth ranking of its kind for African pharma.
The list isn't exhaustive, excludes companies where pharma is only part of a wider business, and the analysis relies on public data and how employees update their own profiles.
Egypt was the standout growth market, with EVA Pharma up 10% and Pharco Pharmaceuticals up 9%, followed by Nigeria (Fidson Healthcare +6%, May & Baker +10%, Swiss Pharma +16%), Morocco (Laprophan +12%, Sothema +6%), Algeria (Groupe Saidal +12%) and Kenya (Dawa Life Sciences +5%, Cosmos +7%).
Johnson & Johnson posted the largest absolute expansion, adding 1,115 employees at 49% growth with just 3% turnover, while EVA Pharma added 558, Sanofi 306, Novartis 297 and Hikma Pharmaceuticals 287.
Among the fastest percentage growers, VBC Vaccines and Biotechnology City grew 105%, Cardinal Health 20%, Swiss Pharma Nigeria 16%, Groupe Saidal 12% and Laprophan 12%, with Bayer adding 275 at 11% growth and Roche 239 at 10%.
Our take: Africa should measure the success of its pharmaceutical transition by how much employment, manufacturing capacity and skills it creates locally. See the full ranking below.
