The German science and technology company Merck is aiming to register Euro 500 million in sales from the African region by 2020. Merck, which expects to clock Euro 200 million in sales in 2015, said that it plans to considerably expand its presence on the African continent over the next five years and is counting on the region’s entrepreneurial spirit and innovation power for growth.
“Merck is committed to supporting healthy families, healthy communities and healthy economies in Africa. We intend to more than double our workforce in Africa and we also aim to more than double our sales on the continent by 2020,” said Karl-Ludwig Kley, chairman & chief executive officer of Merck on November 20, 2015 in Johannesburg.
Merck plans to increases employee count to about 1,000 across ten African countries by 2020 from the currently around 400 employees. The company’s largest location is South Africa, from where the company also steers business in South-East Africa including Kenya, Angola and Mozambique.
With a population rising faster than in any other global market and a growing middle class, the company is increasingly tapping into the continent’s innovative spirit to create health awareness and help respond to unmet medical needs. Among other things, Merck has announced plans to start local production of the diabetes treatment Glucophage in Algeria, inaugurated an office in Nigeria, and launched the sale of its Muse cell analyser, used to detect HIV.
In addition to selling products in Africa, Merck also aims to tap into the continent’s potential for cutting-edge innovation, which can shape Africa’s future and inspire solutions to tackle global challenges. Among other things, Merck has started an online and mobile platform for diabetes risk assessment, apps for diabetes and fertility patients and a mobile platform for doctors, all of which were developed in Africa.
“The entrepreneurial spirit in Africa and the creativity to come up with out-of-the-box solutions are simply amazing. In a world that is increasingly shaped by digital solutions, this innovative spirit is enabling Africa to spearhead technological solutions in areas such as e-health, mobile banking or community information,” said CEO-elect Stefan Oschmann, who will become CEO in April 2016.
