Bayer now has a stronger presence in Africa with the inauguration of its subsidiary, Bayer Middle Africa Limited, in Lagos to serve its customers in Nigeria.
The aim of this subsidiary is to support and develop the business of the 3 sub-groups of Bayer in the country: Bayer HealthCare (Pharmaceuticals, Consumer Care, Medical Care, Animal Health); Bayer CropScience (Crop Protection, Seeds, Environment Science) and Bayer MaterialScience (Polyurethanes, Polycarbonates and Coatings).
To enable it serve its customers in Nigeria better, the company had opened an office in Lagos. Bayer Middle Africa Limited currently has more than 20 employees and is planning to grow to over 30 employees by the end of 2015.
Speaking at the inauguration, which held in Lagos and attended by captains of industry, Mr. Michael König, a member of the company Board of Management, said the company, which celebrated its 150th anniversary two years ago, has a long history in Africa; a legacy that goes back as far as 1896 when it first started trading on the continent.
According to him, Bayer is now located in 13 different African countries and as an important part of the Group’s strategy,i t was decided that the company should have a more direct presence in the priority markets on the continent. He stated that in 2014, under the region of West-Central Africa, the company established two new legal entities in Lagos, Nigeria and Abidjan, Ivory Coast. A similar legal entity was set up in the East African country of Tanzania and a representative office in Ethiopia. “Together with the companies in Morocco, Kenya and South Africa as hubs for the Bayer country groups in North, East and Southern Africa, we now have the infrastructure in place to make this increased footprint a reality,” he said.
On job creation and human capital development, Mr. König said the Group has over 1000 employees across the African continent.
In her address, the Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Mrs. Olusola Oworu, who was represented by the Director of Finance, Mr. Olaseni Ajala, commended Bayer for taking the initiative to establish its newly improved subsidiary, which she said would be a real blessing to the nation and the economic fortune of Lagos State.
Mrs. Oworu said with Bayer’s enviable track record in her parent country, Lagos State can only expect great yields of improved healthcare and qualitative living standards, gainful employment for her experienced and expert labour force, value addition to her local micro, small and medium enterprises and cottage industries as well as increased revenue and enhanced Gross Domestic product.