Nairobi, Kenya, December 21, 2023—The IFC-led Africa Medical Equipment Facility (AMEF) today welcomed Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics Co. Ltd. to its growing roster of partners to help smaller healthcare providers in Côte d'Ivoire and Kenya to access lifesaving, modern medical equipment and supplies more easily.
The AMEF works with partner financial institutions and medical equipment manufacturers to make affordable, long-term funding available to smaller African healthcare providers, which often struggle to secure financing, so they can purchase or lease equipment needed to deliver high-quality care.
Mindray is China's largest medical equipment maker, producing a range of devices including ultrasounds, digital x-rays and laboratory equipment. Mindray's portfolio will help deepen access to medical equipment for African healthcare SMEs.
"Mindray has been active in the African market for 20 years, but the problem in Africa is always insufficient funds. The cooperation with IFC can provide new financial solutions for local private hospitals with demand, and we believe that the basic medical conditions will be greatly improved in the future as a result of this cooperation," said Lydia Chen, Mindray General Manager of the International Customer and Project Management Department.
"Medical equipment and health technologies support a resilient healthcare system and we welcome Mindray to the Africa Medical Equipment Facility. Partnerships with companies like Mindray will unlock access to medical equipment and innovative finance solutions that will help save lives and strengthen healthcare systems," said Henrik Elschner Pedersen, IFC Regional Industry Director in Africa for Manufacturing, Agribusiness, and Services.
The AMEF includes an advisory services program to help small healthcare businesses improve their medical equipment procurement processes, financial management and business planning. It also supports participating financial institutions to strengthen credit underwriting skills for the healthcare sector.
Launched in April 2021, the AMEF is currently active in Côte d'Ivoire and Kenya and plans to expand to other parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Partner financial institutions include the Co-operative Bank of Kenya and NSIA Banque Côte d'Ivoire.
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