Kenya BioVax Institute Limited is proud to have supported one of its staff members, Lorna Bonareri, in participating in the African Biomanufacturing Workforce Training and Skills Development Programme, held and sponsored by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) from 5th to 30th May 2025. The transformative four-week programme—delivered in a hybrid format (two weeks online and two weeks in-person at CSIR, Pretoria)—was tailored to strengthen Africa’s capacity in vaccine and biotherapeutics manufacturing. Lorna’s successful completion of the course, which featured intensive theoretical and hands-on training in upstream and downstream bioprocessing, affirms BioVax’s ongoing investment in building a competent workforce capable of driving Kenya’s and Africa’s vaccine self-sufficiency agenda.
BioVax actively supports such capacity-building initiatives as part of its strategic commitment to developing local talent and aligning with Africa’s ambition to produce 60% of the continent’s vaccines locally by 2040. Lorna’s training covered critical components, including fermentation engineering, bioreactor operation, chromatography techniques, SDS-PAGE, Western blotting, and HPLC analysis—all of which are foundational to vaccine manufacturing. The knowledge and practical skills she brings back are expected to significantly enhance BioVax’s operational efficiency and innovation capacity, particularly in scaling up biomanufacturing platforms. Empowering staff like Lorna is not just a commitment to professional development—it’s an investment in Kenya’s health sovereignty and scientific advancement.
