Frontier market fund TLG Capital has become the largest shareholder in the Swedish Ghana Medical Centre, a private healthcare provider located in Ghana.
SGMC plans to offer state-of-the-art cancer care services to the entire West Africa region with the development of a USD40m “centre of excellence" across two phases.
The first phase includes the provision of a basic cancer care unit with radiotherapy based on linear accelerator treatment, diagnostic and outpatient services.
At a later stage, SGMC is expected to provide advanced radiotherapy and Gamma Knife treatment for the brain with the capability of treating more advanced cancers. The facility will begin treating patients in Q1 2010.
TLG Capital is the largest shareholder in SGMC in a total deal size of over USD15m in the first phase.
Zain Latif, principal of TLG Capital, says: “This investment is perfectly aligned with TLG’s ethos that commercial returns and ethical investments are not mutually exclusive in frontier markets. SGMC will not only provide a much needed service to the region, but also employment opportunities for specialised African medical professionals. The centre will make advanced cancer treatment available locally and at a competitive price, allowing a larger proportion of the population access to treatment whilst remaining attractive to investors.”
Currently Ghana has only two cancer treatment units for a population of 23 million, as compared to a developed country such as Sweden which has more than 70 units for a population of nine million. Ghana alone has roughly 55,000 new cancer cases every year.
Henry Broni-Amponsah, chairman of SGMC, says: “As a Ghanaian who has lived many years in Sweden, l am happy to be part of the creation of such a high standard medical facility for cancer treatment in Ghana and the West Africa region. I am most happy that access to the treatment of such a painful and deadly disease will be made a bit easier and affordable for the people of West Africa.”
Partners in this project include Scandinavian Care, Swedfund, Elekta, and Fidelity Equity Fund II.
This is TLG Capital’s second investment in healthcare in Africa following on from its investment in Quality Chemical Industry, the first pharmaceutical company manufacturing antiretroviral and anti-malarial drugs in Africa.
