Quality Chemical Industries Limited (QCIL), Uganda’s largest pharmaceutical manufacturer, is exploring opportunities to expand into Nigeria as the two countries seek to deepen trade and investment ties and increase the flow of locally manufactured medicines across Africa.

A Nigerian delegation led by Amb. Philip Odida, Charge d’Affaires at the Nigerian High Commission in Uganda, visited QCIL’s manufacturing facility in Luzira, Kampala, as part of the Uganda-Nigeria Business Forum and Exhibition.

The delegation was received by QCIL Co-Founder and Director Frederick Mutebi Kitaka and Chief Executive Officer Ajay Kumar Pal, who outlined the company’s pharmaceutical manufacturing operations and its ambition to build a Pan-African pharmaceutical business.

QCIL explores access to Nigeria’s pharmaceutical market

Discussions during the visit focused on opportunities for QCIL to enter and expand its presence in Nigeria, with officials from both sides highlighting the importance of increasing intra-African trade and prioritising African markets.

The engagement forms part of Uganda’s broader efforts to use science, technology and innovation to strengthen its Economic and Commercial Diplomacy programme by promoting locally manufactured products and identifying new markets across the continent.

For QCIL, access to Nigeria would provide an opportunity to broaden its regional footprint beyond Uganda and participate in one of Africa’s largest pharmaceutical markets.

Ugandan manufacturer produces medicines for major diseases

QCIL operates a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Luzira, where the Nigerian delegation toured different stages of the production process.

The visit included the company’s quarantine areas, basic analysis facilities, material and product flow systems, stability chambers and quality-control operations.

QCIL manufactures medicines across several therapeutic areas, including antiretroviral drugs used in HIV treatment, Sikurea capsules for sickle cell disease, and Lumartem and Lumet for malaria.

Its portfolio also includes medicines for infections, allergies, hepatitis and hypertension.

The company’s manufacturing capabilities are positioned around supplying essential medicines while developing local pharmaceutical production capacity in Uganda.

Uganda and Nigeria seek stronger pharmaceutical cooperation

The visit highlighted opportunities for cooperation between Uganda and Nigeria across pharmaceutical manufacturing, healthcare, trade and investment.

Officials also promoted the principle of “Africa for Africans,” with the engagement centred on increasing the movement of African-made products into African markets rather than relying predominantly on imports from outside the continent.

The Nigerian delegation included senior diplomatic and government representatives, while QCIL executives used the visit to showcase the company’s manufacturing capabilities and expansion ambitions. Ibrahim Abubakar Kana, Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation of Nigeria, also planted a tree at QCIL’s premises to commemorate the visit. The tree was presented as a symbol of the emerging partnership between Uganda and Nigeria and their shared interest in strengthening economic ties through trade, investment, manufacturing and healthcare cooperation.

For QCIL, securing access to Nigeria could represent another step in its ambition to evolve from a Ugandan pharmaceutical manufacturer into a broader Pan-African healthcare company, while giving Nigerian consumers and healthcare providers greater access to medicines manufactured within Africa.