By Mulengera Reporters
For years, Uganda’s hospitals and health centres have depended heavily on medical products manufactured thousands of kilometres away.
Now, inside a growing industrial complex in Kampala, that dependence is being challenged by a Ugandan company manufacturing diagnostic products designed for the realities of African healthcare.
Microhaem Scientifics (MHS), founded by Ugandan Scientist Dr. Cedric Akwesigye, is expanding from its existing production facility in Ntinda into a 20-acre manufacturing complex at Namanve Industrial Park—a move that could significantly increase Uganda’s capacity to produce diagnostics and pharmaceutical products locally.
Backing that ambition is more than USD50 million in financing from Equity Bank Uganda, making the bank the primary financier of Microhaem’s expansion journey.
The scale of the investment and the company’s ambitions came into sharp focus on 7 August 2026, when Equity Bank Uganda Board Chair Henry Rugamba, accompanied by Managing Director Gift Shoko and senior executives, toured Microhaem’s Ntinda production facility and the company’s Phase II expansion under construction at Namanve.
The visit offered a glimpse into what could become a major shift in Uganda’s medical supply chain—from dependence on imported products towards locally manufactured diagnostics and medicines.
Building health solutions at home
Microhaem was founded on a simple but ambitious belief: Africa’s health security should not depend entirely on supply chains stretching across oceans.
Dr. Akwesigye saw first-hand the vulnerabilities created by imported medical products, which can face delays, storage challenges and other logistical constraints before reaching health facilities.
His response was to build a company capable of developing and manufacturing products specifically suited to African conditions.
Operating under the philosophy “Quality Saves Lives,” Microhaem began developing diagnostic tools designed around the realities of East African healthcare.
Among its flagship products is the Pf-Xpat malaria rapid diagnostic test kit, designed to withstand moisture and remain stable at temperatures of up to 40°C—an important feature for health facilities in areas where reliable refrigeration cannot be guaranteed.
The company has since expanded into other critical diagnostic areas, including HIV testing through the Kwiq Test, sickle-cell screening through MicroScreen and molecular reagents.
The products target some of the region’s most significant health challenges.
Uganda carries a substantial malaria burden, while thousands of children are born with sickle-cell disease every year. HIV testing also remains a critical component of the country’s public health response.
For Microhaem, the ambition is therefore not simply to manufacture products locally. It is to develop medical solutions that are relevant to the populations they are intended to serve.
From Ntinda to a 20-acre industrial complex
What started as a modest manufacturing operation in Ntinda has evolved into one of East Africa’s leading indigenous manufacturers of in-vitro diagnostics.
The company’s existing Phase I facility continues to supply national programmes and private healthcare providers.
But it is the new Namanve facility that signals the scale of Microhaem’s next ambition.
Spread across 20 acres, Phase II is being developed as a purpose-built manufacturing complex featuring a four-level manufacturing block measuring 40 metres by 160 metres, dedicated utility systems, a plastics factory for syringes and other consumables, research and development floors and specialist accommodation.
The expansion is designed to dramatically increase Microhaem’s manufacturing capacity and broaden its product range beyond diagnostics into wider pharmaceutical lines.
Civil works on the main manufacturing block are expected to be completed by December 2026, followed by approximately a year of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) fit-out.
The first validated products from the new facility are expected within approximately 18 months.
For Uganda, the significance goes beyond the fortunes of one company.
Every additional diagnostic kit, syringe, reagent or pharmaceutical product manufactured locally represents part of a broader effort to reduce exposure to international supply disruptions, shorten supply chains and retain more value within the domestic economy.
Why Equity Bank is betting big
Equity Bank Uganda’s role in the transformation has been substantial.
To date, the bank has committed more than USD50 million in facilities to Microhaem, supporting the company’s manufacturing expansion, quality systems and investment in new production capacity.
For Rugamba, the project demonstrates what becomes possible when African businesses with ambitious industrial goals are matched with capital willing to support them.
“What we saw today is African capability in action. Microhaem is not waiting for solutions to be shipped from elsewhere; it is building them here,” Rugamba said.
“Equity Bank is proud to have financed this journey with over USD50 million to date. Local manufacturers, backed by local capital, are the surest route to health sovereignty and economic resilience.”
The financing is part of a broader strategy by Equity Group to direct capital towards sectors capable of driving industrialisation, creating employment and reducing Africa’s dependence on imported goods.
Gift Shoko, Managing Director of Equity Bank Uganda, said Microhaem’s expansion fits squarely within the bank’s Africa Recovery and Resilience Plan (ARRP).
“Through our Africa Recovery and Resilience Plan we deliberately channel capital into industries that reduce import dependence and create skilled jobs,” Shoko said.
“Supporting Microhaem Scientifics is a clear expression of that strategy. We are not merely lenders; we are partners in building the industrial backbone Uganda and East Africa need.”
A bigger bet on African manufacturing
Equity Group’s Africa Recovery and Resilience Plan is a USD6 billion continental strategy targeting private-sector growth, industrialisation, cross-border value chains and financial inclusion for up to 100 million customers by 2030.
Manufacturing and logistics are among the plan’s core pillars, placing businesses such as Microhaem at the centre of the group’s industrialisation strategy.
For Microhaem, however, the partnership is ultimately about a much bigger objective than financing a factory.
It is about proving that sophisticated medical products can be researched, developed and manufactured in Uganda for African markets.
Dr. Akwesigye said the company has spent 14 years developing, testing and refining its products, with Equity Bank’s financing providing the confidence and resources required to take the business to its next level.
“Fourteen years of rigorous development, testing and iteration have brought us to this point. Equity Bank’s confidence and sustained financing have been decisive,” he said.
“Our goal remains simple: to protect and improve the quality of people’s lives through the innovation, manufacture and supply of high-quality medical products made in Uganda, for Uganda, and for export across Africa.”
From import substitution to health sovereignty
The partnership now enters a new phase as construction at Namanve progresses towards completion.
Once operational, the facility will give Microhaem significantly greater capacity to manufacture diagnostics and other medical products, potentially opening new opportunities across Uganda and export markets on the continent.
For Equity Bank, the project demonstrates how targeted financing can help turn industrial ambitions into physical production capacity.
For Microhaem, it is a chance to scale a vision that began 14 years ago.
And for Uganda, the stakes are even higher.
The country’s push for local manufacturing and value addition is increasingly intersecting with another strategic priority: health security.
The ability to produce essential medical products closer to the people who need them can reduce exposure to global supply shocks, strengthen domestic manufacturing capabilities, create skilled employment and keep more economic value within the country.
At Namanve, that ambition is taking shape in concrete, steel and machinery.
With more than USD50 million in Equity Bank financing already committed, Microhaem is betting that the future of African healthcare will not simply be about importing better products. It will be about making them here. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
