Groupe Cosemad’s big bets on local manufacturing in Africa

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At a Glance

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• Cosemad’s drive to expand regional medical manufacturing capacity continues to boom.
• Carrefour Médical targets stronger supply security by producing dialysis consumables within Senegal.
• Cosemad builds an integrated model spanning manufacturing, distribution, maintenance and biomedical training.

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Groupe Cosemad, the Senegalese conglomerate led by entrepreneur Saliou Mboup, is accelerating its push into Africa’s manufacturing sector, especially in the major areas of life and wellbeing as the region seeks to reduce reliance on imported healthcare supplies.

Founded in 2005, the COSEMAD Group occupies a leading position in the Senegalese market, more specifically in the distribution of food products, health, real estate and equipment.

For decades, the region relied almost entirely on shipments from Europe, China and the Middle East, leaving hospitals vulnerable to delays, currency shocks and volatile pricing. That dependence is what Senegalese entrepreneur Saliou Mboup wants to change.

Why Africa needs its own medical manufacturers
Sub-Saharan Africa imports more than 85 percent of its medical consumables and maintenance parts often arrive late or overpriced, placing pressure on hospitals already stretched by rising patient volumes. Local production remains minimal, and francophone West Africa has almost no established manufacturers. Groupe Cosemad sees this gap as an opportunity and is betting big on it.

From distributor to manufacturer: Cosemad’s strategic pivot
For years, Carrefour Médical, Cosemad’s wholly-owned healthcare subsidiary, focused on importing and distributing equipment, oxygen plants and consumables across Senegal and neighbouring markets. But to secure pricing, quality and supply stability, Mboup pushed the group to begin manufacturing core components locally.

The company, founded in 2007, is now producing parts for dialysis kits and select consumables previously sourced abroad. It marks Cosemad’s entry into industrial healthcare manufacturing, a sector traditionally dominated by foreign suppliers.

IFC’s $21 million boost and what it changes
The International Finance Corporation, six(6) days ago, said it approved about $21 million financing package to support Cosemad’s expansion. The funds are earmarked for a larger production facility, a biomedical maintenance and training centre and a new headquarters to anchor regional expansion.

For Cosemad, the investment is validation that high-quality, locally produced medical supplies are viable in francophone West Africa. For the IFC, it is a bet on reducing Africa’s supply-chain vulnerabilities.
French version of the development: here

Building a regional healthcare supply ecosystem
Cosemad already serves hospitals in Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Benin and Burkina Faso. Its model integrates manufacturing of dialysis components and consumables, distribution of equipment and oxygen systems, technical maintenance via a dedicated service hub and skills training for biomedical technicians

By shortening delivery cycles and reducing import dependence, Cosemad aims to become a preferred supplier for regional hospitals.

The challenges ahead
Medical manufacturing demands stringent certifications, heavy capital investment and strong quality control. Currency fluctuations still affect imported inputs. And to compete against global suppliers, Cosemad must scale without compromising reliability—especially when selling to public-sector customers with slow procurement cycles.

A founder-led transformation with wider implications
Mboup has built Cosemad through diversification, but healthcare is now the group’s most strategic frontier. If the company executes its expansion plan, Senegal could emerge as a manufacturing hub for West Africa’s medical ecosystem, offering hospitals lower-cost consumables, better maintenance support and an expanded technical workforce.

Commissioning the factory, meeting IFC performance benchmarks, securing long-term contracts and training engineers will determine whether Cosemad becomes a continental manufacturing force. But one thing is clear: Cosemad is no longer simply a distributor. It is positioning itself as a pioneer in West Africa’s push toward locally produced medical supplies, reshaping a sector long dominated by imports.