Goodlife adviser Stella Thesse with former Health CS James Macharia. FILE PHOTO | NMG
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is providing a $3
million (Sh309.8 million) loan to fund the expansion of Goodlife
Pharmacy in Kenya and Uganda.
In a notice, the instit
Summary
- A spokesperson of the IFC told the Business Daily that some funds from IFHA II would be invested in Kenya, but declined to give specifics including whether AAR is a likely get more funding.
- The IFHA first invested in Kenya in 2010 when it spent Sh750 million to purchase a 20 per cent stake in Healthcare provider AAR Group.
- AAR, which has presence in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, will spend at least Sh2.5 billion to put up the new hospital on Kiambu Road with a capacity of over 100 beds.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is scouting for
investments in Kenya’s healthcare sector through a Sh11 billion ($107
million) Dutch-based private equity fund it backs.
The
IFC, the World Bank’s private lending arm, says the Investment Fund for
Health in Africa (IFHA II) will finance “acquisition and integration of
targeted healthcare services businesses in East and Southern Africa.”
The
Fund, which also counts Pfizer, African Development Bank and European
Investment Bank as its backers, has investments in healthcare provider
AAR Group as well as CarePay Limited, the originators of the M-Tiba
platform.
A spokesperson of the IFC told the Business Daily
that some funds from IFHA II would be invested in Kenya, but declined
to give specifics including whether AAR is a likely get more funding.
“The Project is expected to increase access to affordable,
quality healthcare and specialist services in East and Southern Africa,
where there is an undersupply and increasing demand across all income
group,” IFC says in its disclosures.
“Through the
construction and set up of new clinics and hospitals, this Project will
go a long way in increasing and improving the much-needed healthcare
infrastructure. The key acquisition targets are in East and Southern
Africa.”
The IFHA first invested in Kenya in 2010 when
it spent Sh750 million to purchase a 20 per cent stake in Healthcare
provider AAR Group, even as its management said it intended to grow its
stake to over 60 per cent in the short-term.
Three
years later, the IFC independently made an investment of Sh340 million
in AAR while IFHA increased its stake with an injection of an unknown
amount of money.
IFHA typically invests between Sh75.5
million and Sh1.1 billion with its preferred targets being expansion of
hospitals and clinic chains, setting up of drug manufacturers, and
health insurance.
It also finances firms producing affordable HIV/Aids testing solutions.
AAR,
which has presence in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, will spend at least
Sh2.5 billion to put up the new hospital on Kiambu Road with a capacity
of over 100 beds.
The firm has 19 branches in Kenya.
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