By Kingsley Adegboye

The growing attractiveness of Nigeria’s healthcare and pharmaceutical market came into sharper focus at Pharma West Africa 2026, as exhibitors from Asia, Europe and other regions declared strong interest in partnerships, distribution deals and local manufacturing in the country.

The three-day exhibition, held at the Landmark Event Centre Lagos, brought together over 250 exhibitors, investors, manufacturers and healthcare stakeholders from across the world.

Organisers said the event has become one of the fastest-growing pharmaceutical trade exhibitions in the region, driven largely by Nigeria’s huge population, expanding healthcare needs and strategic position as a gateway to West Africa.

The Exhibition Manager of Trade Show Organisers, Kieran Westlake, said the show had witnessed remarkable growth since its launch two years ago.

“I remember launching this show two years ago, so it is one of the fastest-growing exhibitions that we have done as a business,” Westlake said.

“We’ve got record-breaking exhibitors now from all over the globe. You look at some of the country pavilions we have here from Turkey, China, Egypt, Bangladesh and St. Petersburg. It is growing bigger and bigger.”

He added that visitor registrations had also reached record levels.

“In terms of registrations, we are going to have record-breaking visitors to the show as well. Pharma West Africa 2026 is growing and it is only going to get bigger and better,” he said.

Westlake noted that foreign companies were being drawn by the growth potential of Nigeria’s pharmaceutical sector.

“I think the Nigerian market is growing anyway and I think that is the pull for all these international companies to come here. They want to do business and they want to grow in this market,” he stated.

One of the exhibitors, Suresh Gondalia from India, said his company attended the exhibition to secure distributors and explore setting up a manufacturing base in Africa, with Lagos under consideration.

According to him, the company operates a large production facility near Mumbai and manufactures oncology drugs, hormones, nutraceuticals, general medicines and beta-lactam products.

“The African market is huge and after India it is a big population market,” Gondalia said.

“Our strength is best quality and cost-effective drugs. We supply in volume and we are here to meet potential importer-buyers.”

He added that the company planned to establish a production facility in Africa within the next one or two years.

“Yes, Nigeria is among the focal markets. We understood last year that people want some products produced locally instead of importation. Definitely, we can put a manufacturing unit near Lagos and start production from Nigeria,” he said.

On affordability, Gondalia said local governments and private buyers would benefit from the company’s pricing model.

“We are manufacturers, so definitely we are cost-effective. We can supply government tenders in a big way and meet all compliance requirements,” he said.

He also described Nigeria as a highly promising market because of its population and healthcare demand.

“Nigeria market is good because it is a very potential market. The requirement for malaria products and some other diseases is huge. Nutraceuticals are also growing strongly,” he added.

Delegates from St. Petersburg also used the exhibition to explore business opportunities and partnerships in Nigeria and the wider ECOWAS region.

A representative of the St. Petersburg business delegation, Mikhail Evnevich, said Russian companies were keen to understand the market and localise production where necessary.

“We would like to explore what is happening in the market and the possibilities for mutual exchange,” the delegate said.

He disclosed that Russian firms at the exhibition included pharmaceutical manufacturers, orthopaedic product makers and medical technology suppliers.

“We range from pharmaceutical producers from St. Petersburg to companies that produce orthosis and joint support products. Everything is here,” he said.

The delegate said Nigeria’s market size and access to neighbouring countries made it strategically important.

“The market is huge, not only Nigeria but also neighbouring ECOWAS countries, and it is not saturated,” he said.

“Some of the big Western names came out of the market, so why not explore mutually beneficial partnerships here?”

He added that many companies were considering localisation strategies because of logistics and long-term sustainability.

“Most of the companies are ready to explore localisation of production here in Nigeria,” he said.

Another exhibitor from Russia said Africa had become one of the company’s key expansion regions, particularly in the area of insulin and obesity treatment products.

“We produce insulin and GLP-1 products for obesity treatment and weight loss,” the representative said.

“We are an international company and Africa for us is one of the key markets.”

He explained that the company already had operations and supply arrangements in countries including India, Morocco, Algeria, Egypt and Ethiopia.

“We have just recently signed an exclusive contract in Ethiopia. Nigeria and other countries are very interesting for us,” he said.

The company, he noted, was specifically searching for strong Nigerian distributors and pharmaceutical partners.

“We would like to find local partners, strong local pharmaceutical companies who can represent us in the Nigerian market and other countries as well,” he said.

“We need distributors who can take our products, complete registration processes and promote them in Nigeria.”