The Pharmaceutical Sector needs funding to thrive- India-Ghana Pharma Business Summit

According to the Chairman of Ghana National Chamber of Pharmacy, Pharm. Harrison K. Abutiate, there was a seeming lack of big-ticket lending support for industry players interested in pharmaceutical manufacturing.

He said there was also lack of adequate credit lines and payment periods to accommodate the long cash conversion cycle in the pharmaceutical sector, especially with imports and manufacturing, needing urgent attention. The “India-Ghana Pharma Business Summit” was to explore how the fortunes of the pharma business could be advanced beyond current gains.

Pharm. Harrison K. Abutiate, speaking at the just ended India-Ghana Pharma Business Summit said there was also the lack of support for start-up pharma businesses.

The Chairman of Ghana National Chamber of Pharmacy in an interview with The Daily Sun said the Bank, through its partnership with Pharm Access, had supported pharmacies, especially in the retail sector with loans and equity support to grow their businesses.

He said the Bank expected pharma business players to have the capacity to pay and have healthy cash flow to support repayment of loans and the willingness to pay. He added that they should have a track record of business responsibilities, especially on transactional and financial obligations with strong corporate governance culture, with such qualities, banks would readily adapt to peculiar situations with the pharma business sector and support the sector to flourish.

Pharm Kofi Agyekum, Founder at KofiKrom Pharmacy Limited also added that the financial institution had already had about 40-60 percent of its healthcare financing with pharmacies, especially in the retail sector.

“Medical Credit Fund is the funding arm of the Pharm Access Group, an NGO that has helped with healthcare funding through equity financing for over 10 years in Ghana and other African countries,” Pharm. Kofi Agyekum, continued.

Pharm. Kofi Agyekum said it was obvious that equity financing was not popular with the pharma business sector in Ghana and advised pharma business players to avail themselves for engagements with equity fund managers to benefit from such arrangements. He equally added that he will be delighted to see pharmaceutical firms buy products from India in rupees so that the pharma sectors can also be safe when there is inflation with other currencies.

Read Also:

GOV’T IS DEVELOPING A PHARMACEUTICAL POLICY TO ATTRACT INVESTMENT

.

Source: Ghana Health Journal & SKB Journal