Kigali, Rwanda and San Francisco, USA. 24 November 2025. Menghis Bairu, MD, CEO & President of Bio Usawa, joined the plenary panel of the East Africa Pharma & Biotech (EAPB) 2025 Conference this week, alongside the Rwanda FDA Director General and other distinguished leaders.

He later participated in a roundtable on building a sustainable pharma and biotech value chain in Africa, underscoring the need for tailored biopharma financing for the continent.

Dr. Bairu reflected on Bio Usawa’s journey — from concept at EAPB 2024 to a company with a registered product and scheduling shipment of a modular manufacturing facility to Rwanda by the end of this year— and applauded Rwanda's uniquely enabling environment for such rapid progress.

Notably, the Rwanda FDA Director General, Prof. Emile Bienvenu, highlighted Bio Usawa in his keynote as one of the companies driving Rwanda’s vision to become a regional hub for biopharmaceutical manufacturing.

Following the conference, Dr Bairu noted an emergent theme relating to “… the need for a financing architecture designed for Africa — one that moves entrepreneurs out of survival mode and into scale mode. Instead of forcing African firms to fit Western-designed financing models, we must adapt those models to actual operating realities. Symbolism doesn’t save lives — systems do. Africa requires financing built for African conditions: long-tenor capital, milestone-based grace periods, and risk-sharing instruments that unlock true manufacturing independence.”

“Bio Usawa — now developing in Kigali what will be the region’s first biologics manufacturing facility of its kind — is proud to play a role in this evolving ecosystem”, Dr. Bairu concluded.

About Bio Usawa

Bio Usawa is Africa’s pioneering biotechnology company dedicated to democratizing access to life-saving biotherapeutics. Headquartered in Kigali, Rwanda, the company develops, licenses, and manufactures affordable monoclonal antibodies and biosimilars targeting cancer, diabetes complications, infectious diseases, and autoimmune conditions.