In Depth: China’s Pharma Pioneers in Africa Dig In for the Long Haul

(Nairobi, Kenya) — For Bai Jinkun, setting up a factory in the heart of Africa felt like a gamble with a one in 10 chance of paying off.

As general manager of Anhui Tiankang Medical Technology Co. Ltd.’s new plant in Rwanda, a landlocked nation on the East African Plateau, Bai oversaw every step of its creation, a journey he still recalls with wonder, and exhaustion. Just a few years ago, driven by a UNICEF tender that required local production, Bai took the plunge. Even with a guaranteed order, the obstacles were greater than he had ever imagined.