KAMPALA — Ugandan pharmacist, biotech scientist and entrepreneur Dr Mathias Magoola has been named among Africa’s top 100 influential people.
The vaccine entrepreneur was named among Africa’s top influential people last month by the Accra-based Business Executive Media Group, in collaboration with the International Business Council Africa and the African Chamber for Trade.
The 100 Africa Most Influential Persons Awards, now in their third year, were held in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, under this year’s theme: “Recognising the People Determining Africa’s Socio-Economic Direction”.
Dr Magoola, founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dei BioPharma, emerged as a winner as his company builds one of the region’s largest medicine and vaccine plants near Kampala.
The organisers said Dr Magoola was recognised “for his leadership in biotechnology and for work to reduce Africa’s reliance on imported medicines”.
His citation praised his “visionary leadership and ground-breaking innovations” in economic development and healthcare.
The gala at Kigali’s M Hotel brought together honourees (winners) from countries including Uganda, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Rwanda. They work in fields ranging from business and law to healthcare and community development.
Dr Baroness Paulette Kporo, who chairs the Business Executive Media Group, said the awards honoured people whose conduct, achievements and positions of authority had shaped the continent’s economic, political and cultural direction.
“As a region integrated into the global community of nations and the emergent global economy, we honour those who have greatly influenced specific communities, sectors of socio-economic activity, segments of society, or geographical regions,” Dr Kporo said.
The organisers said research consultants first compile findings on candidates. A 12-member jury of experts in economic, political, cultural and diplomatic affairs then makes the final selection. The jury considers each nominee’s impact across the continent, within their region and at home, as well as their role in Africa’s relations with the rest of the world.
Prof. Didas Muganga Kayihura, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Rwanda, presided over the ceremony. He urged African institutions to innovate in ways that strengthen the continent’s economies.
Africa imports most of the medicines and vaccines it uses, a weakness exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The African Union (AU) has set a target for the continent to manufacture at least 60% of its own health products by 2040.
Dei BioPharma is among the companies working towards that goal. Founded in 2014, the company is developing a 250-acre manufacturing campus in Matugga, Wakiso District, north of Kampala. The firm says the campus will eventually house about 30 medicine and vaccine factories.
The company says it has submitted 65 product applications to Uganda’s state-run National Drug Authority (NDA), the regulatory body for medicines in the country. Forty have been approved for manufacture and 14 for sale.
Speaking at the ceremony, Dr Magoola dedicated the award to Uganda and its leadership.
“We are grateful for this recognition and for the support from everyone, especially His Excellency President Yoweri Kaguta Tibuhaburwa Museveni,” he said.
“Without his unwavering support, these milestones would not be possible. These achievements belong to Uganda, and specifically to our president, who has always stood by the scientists of this country.”
The Kigali award caps a strong month for the company.
On 1 September 2026, Dei BioPharma became a registered manufacturer under the African Pooled Procurement Mechanism. The scheme is run by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and combines orders from African governments to give local drug manufacturers a larger and more predictable market.
The listing lasts five years and allows the firm to bid for continental supply contracts. Dr Magoola has said it marks the company’s shift from building infrastructure to developing regulated products that can be sold beyond Uganda.
His stated priorities include affordable cancer treatment, reducing Africa’s dependence on imported vaccines and training a new generation of African researchers. He has filed more than 100 patent applications with the US Patent and Trademark Office.
The applications cover treatments and vaccines for cancer, HIV/AIDS, Alzheimer’s disease, sickle cell anaemia, malaria, tuberculosis (TB) and diabetes. According to Dei BioPharma, more than 70 have been published by the US office.
In August 2026, he filed seven further applications for a family of mRNA cancer vaccines. The company says the vaccines would be manufactured in advance and target genetic changes that recur across groups of patients, rather than being designed separately for each person.
Another published application concerns a vaccine against foot-and-mouth disease, a highly contagious illness that causes heavy losses for cattle farmers across East Africa. Dr Magoola says a locally manufactured vaccine could save Uganda billions of shillings (millions of dollars) currently spent on imports.
The Kigali honour follows a 2025 Ratna Pharma Award in India for vaccine research. In December 2024, he was also named Researcher of the Year at the International Molecular Biologist Awards for his work on mRNA-based drugs and vaccines.
He established the Dei Group, a conglomerate spanning various sectors. Under his leadership, the group expanded to include Dei BioPharma Ltd, founded in 2014, which spearheads its pharmaceutical manufacturing activities.
Dr Magoola has co-authored several publications. His latest study is titled “Advancing Therapeutic and Vaccine Proteins: Switching from Recombinant to Ribosomal Delivery—A Humanitarian Cause.”
