Chief Executive Officer of Zeme Biohub, Dr. Andrews Akwasi Agbleke, has challenged Ghana to tap into its pool of local scientists to manufacture essential medical products, instead of depending heavily on imports from India and China.
Dr. Agbleke, who is also Founder of the Sene Institute of Technology and doubles as CEO of Zeme Biohub Bio Innovation, Investments and International Strategies, said the goal of his outfit is to build, fund and scale biotechnology and life sciences ventures that address Ghana's most pressing health, agriculture and bioeconomy challenges.
Zeme, he explained, provides early-stage patient capital, hands-on venture building, and shared research and laboratory infrastructure to help innovators move from discovery to commercialization.
Speaking at a meeting of biotech innovators in Ghana, Dr. Agbleke said the meeting was to bring together capable scientists scattered across the country and the continent.
"The purpose of the meeting today is to bring together scientists who are capable of developing technologies in Ghana," he said.
He cited everyday examples: "You go to the hospital and they have to run a malaria test. Where does the malaria test come from? Normally, we bring them from India or China. But do you know there are scientists in Ghana who can manufacture them?"
"Another example is if you go to the hospital and they have to give you some drug. Normally they are imported. Do you know scientists in Ghana can manufacture them? But the problem is that they are all scattered across the country, and it's even worse in Africa. There is a scientist in Ghana, there's a scientist in Egypt, someone in South Africa, someone in Kenya, who can do the job. But we are scattered," he lamented.
Dr. Agbleke said the concept of manufacturing such products is biotechnology, and the conference aimed to make innovators know each other, with discussions ranging from new diagnostics for fungal diseases to vaccines and medical devices.
"The goal is to make all of us get to know each other, and once we understand what each of us is doing, then we are going to build a manufacturing space, and then they can all come and manufacture their products from inside the hub," he explained.
Trust Through Standards
Addressing public trust in locally made medicines such as paracetamol, Dr. Agbleke stressed the need for regulatory compliance.
"If you want to trust your medical product locally in Ghana, you have to do it the right way. There are regulatory standards that you have to meet, and that is what we call a GMP certified facility – Good Manufacturing Practices facility," he said.
"If you go and manufacture para in your small house and you are selling, people are not going to trust it. But if you build the right space, you get Ghana FDA, Ghana Standards Authority. You can even bring international agencies to come and inspect it and make sure it meets international standard, then people trust it," he noted.
He referenced India and China, whose products were initially not great but improved through continuous regulatory inspection and monitoring.
"I think Africa can do the same thing. We cannot say because somebody did it and it didn't go well, so we cannot do it. We have experts. What we need is to give them the environment, equipment, and resources," he said.
80 Companies In Five Years
Dr. Agbleke disclosed that the Zeme Life Sciences Hub provides shared laboratory infrastructure, co-working space and technical support for startups, researchers and innovators to rapidly prototype, validate and scale bio-based solutions.
The hub focuses on high-impact sectors including biotechnology and life sciences, clinical trials and global health, agricultural biotechnology and food systems, drug discovery and natural products, diagnostics and medical devices.
"The concept of the hub is to build about 80 companies in five years. And to build 80 companies, you have to look at where are the biggest areas that we spend a lot of our Ghanaian dollars on. So the first one is diagnostics. If you cannot detect the disease, how do you treat it? So the most important thing is to open up the diagnostic market," he said.
Zeme invests patient, impact-oriented capital in early and growth-stage ventures in Ghana and across Africa, structuring flexible investment instruments paired with active management and technical support, prioritizing scalable solutions, strong governance and measurable social and economic impact.
Its investment portfolio spans healthcare, education, agriculture, technology, data science and AI, manufacturing, imports, exports and investor relationships.
