Savanna East Africa Acquires 51 Percent of Condom Manufacturing Firm in Kenya

Construction will continue on a condom manufacturing facility in Nairobi, thanks to a deal providing the funds needed to complete the plant and bring it online. Savanna East Africa said on Aug. 24 it acquired the majority interest in the condom factory’s developer, which had run low on money to complete the project.

“We are back on track and ready to rapidly proceed,” said Randell Torno, CEO of Savanna East Africa.

Some 20 million condoms are used per month in Kenya, almost double the number seven years ago. Kenya’s National AIDS Strategic Plan 2009-13 calls for a monthly distribution target of 28 million condoms.

The Kenyan government appealed to the United States for emergency funding to help deal with a critical condom shortage earlier this year. Africa is the world’s largest per-capita consumer of condoms and currently imports 90 percent of its prophylactics. When the Savanna plant begins manufacturing, plans call for it to produce 10 million condoms per month.

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