Varkey Verghese, an Indian-born Nigerian entrepreneur, has spent more than four decades building a pharmaceutical business that has evolved from product marketing and distribution into local manufacturing across human and animal healthcare.

Varkey Verghese is the founder of Jawa International, the Nigerian pharmaceutical company behind a growing portfolio of medicines and related businesses including Annie Pharma and Kattle Care. His career has been shaped by pharmaceuticals, distribution and manufacturing rather than the banking, technology or natural-resources sectors that have produced many of Africa’s prominent business figures.

From agricultural science to pharmaceuticals

Varkey Verghese began his career in India after studying agricultural science at the erstwhile Madras Agricultural College in Coimbatore. He briefly worked as an Agricultural Extension Officer for the Tamil Nadu government before joining Rallis India, where he spent about 17 years progressing through product promotion and marketing roles.

He later moved to Africa and settled in Nigeria, joining Henly Group of Companies in Agbara, where he gained experience across industrial chemicals, pharmaceuticals, engineering products and electrical goods.

That experience laid the foundation for Jawa International, which Verghese established in the 1990s. The company gradually expanded from a pharmaceutical marketing and distribution business into manufacturing, with Verghese saying its portfolio grew from five products to more than 120.

Today, Jawa International focuses largely on over-the-counter medicines, while Annie Pharma serves the ethical pharmaceutical market and Kattle Care operates in veterinary healthcare. The group says its distribution network reaches all 36 Nigerian states and the Federal Capital Territory.

Building a local manufacturing platform

A major milestone came with Jawa’s investment in beta-lactam manufacturing. The company laid the foundation for a new antibiotic dry-syrup plant in Lagos in 2020, with the project estimated at about N2 billion and designed to meet World Health Organization good manufacturing practice standards.

The facility was commissioned in December 2024 in Isolo, Lagos, marking Jawa’s deeper entry into specialised antibiotic production.

The expansion comes as Nigeria seeks to reduce dependence on imported medicines and strengthen domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing. Jawa’s manufacturing operations are based at its facility in Isolo Industrial Estate, Lagos.

Institutional financing supports expansion

Jawa’s expansion has increasingly been supported by institutional capital. In July 2025, the company issued a N2 billion ($1.5 million) Series 1 commercial paper under a N10 billion programme approved by Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company has also received financing support from the Bank of Industry to expand its manufacturing capacity and distribution network.

Despite the scale of the business, Jawa remains privately held, limiting public disclosure of its revenue, profitability, valuation and Verghese’s precise ownership stake. As a result, available public information does not support a reliable estimate of his personal wealth.

Verghese has also been involved in Nigeria’s pharmaceutical industry through advocacy and professional organisations, while receiving recognition for his contributions to healthcare and philanthropy, including Nigeria’s MFR national honour in 2001.

After more than four decades in Nigeria, Verghese’s trajectory reflects a gradual shift from agricultural and industrial marketing to pharmaceutical distribution, local formulation and specialised manufacturing, positioning Jawa as an increasingly established participant in Nigeria’s healthcare manufacturing industry.