Bayer’s presence in Africa dates back to the late 1800’s, with the first legal entity set-up in South Africa followed by Morocco, Kenya, Algeria, Nigeria and Zimbabwe. At present Bayer is cementing its presence in Africa with over 1000 employees spread across legal entities already established in a number of countries, and other are in the process of being established. Our key business locations in Africa include South Africa, Kenya, Cote d’Ivoire, Morocco and Algeria. We plan to further expand our presence in Africa in all our areas of business.

Bayer has a long history in South Africa, dating back to the early 1920’s when Taeuber & Corssen (Pty) Ltd were appointed as agents of the then German chemical company, Bayer AG.  Following an evolutionary process spanning more than half a century, Bayer in South Africa formally came into existence in 1993, consolidating its activities in the country in the industrial/chemical, agricultural, healthcare and consumer fields.

With the majority of Bayer’s total sales on the continent generated in South Africa, the country plays a key role in Bayer’s African strategy. South Africa therefore remains a key market for Bayer and will play an instrumental role in facilitating the expansion into the Southern African region in particular.

Our Pharmaceuticals Division has been active in South Africa for more than 50 years with the business steadily expanding into the continent, in both the public and private healthcare sectors. Our Pharmaceutical Division offers innovative drugs and novel therapeutic approaches in several therapeutic areas, including Cardiovascular and Blood diseases, Cancer Therapies, Neurology, Men’s Health, Radiology and Imaging, as well as Women’s Healthcare. We remain the global leader in female contraception and are well established in the South African market in this field

The Consumer Health Division distributes many of its well-known over the counter products in the Dermatology & Gastrointestinals, Nutritionals and Analgesics in Southern Africa. We offer dynamic ranges and sizes in some product categories in order to suite different consumer needs in the market.  Some of our popular Consumer Health brands include Aspirin, Cal-C-Vita, Berocca, Canesten, Bepanthen and more recently Demazin, Clarityn, Drixin and Tindaderm.

Bayer’s Zambuk is an iconic 100% South African brand with great historical affection and multiple traditional usages, that has been going for over 100 years.

Africa, as a continent, represents huge potential to produce high yielding crops and could make a big contribution to world food supply.  While the Crop Science Division is well established in South Africa, the business is in the process of actively expanding the business into the rest of the Southern African Region. 

This Region is characterised by large Commercial farmers mainly based in South Africa in contrast to small scale farmers in other Southern African countries. Our Crop Science Division has responded with solutions that meet both these requirements. Though our Crop Protection business, this Division is a dominant player in the  Region’s agricultural sector with products such as Poncho Votivo, Luna, Movento, Notivo and Sekura to name a few.  Bayer is also in the beginning phases of its Seeds business in Southern Africa.

The Crop Science Division also entails two other important areas of Bayer’s business, including:

Environmental Science

Environmental Science specializes in the development and marketing of pest, weed and plant-disease control solutions for non-crop situations. This encompasses vector control; professional pest control (incl. termite control and stored product protection); professional self-applied; rural hygiene; turf & ornamental and industrial vegetation management.

As a world leader, Bayer Environmental Science’s aspiration is to protect the environment we live in and   improve our quality of life.  It is to provide greater environmental, hygiene and health benefits, as well as improve living standards and comfort in the various Environmental markets

These markets includes:

• Vector Control products which contribute to protecting human health against vector borne diseases (malaria, dengue and chagas).
• Professional Pest Management solutions to help safeguard and guarantee hygiene in places where we live or work.
• Professional Self-Applied for the do-it-yourself consumer and home owner.
• Rural Hygiene for the control of pests in professional housing for animals, excluding any use in or on animals.
• Our Industrial vegetation management (IVM)  business helps maintain the integrity and hence the safety of structures (railways, motorways, pavements)

• Turf & Ornamental to help our customers to maintain healthy turf and beautiful landscapes.

Animal Health

Bayer’s Animal Health business is one of the world’s leading research-based veterinary pharmaceutical companies, and is very active in Southern Africa.  As a global leader in production animal as well as companion animal products, we are able to provide animal health solutions for animals ranging from well cared for suburban pets and horses, to rural animals used for commercial, subsistence and transport purposes. As a specialist in the field of parasiticides, we take pride in owning a number of leading brands, including Drastic Deadline, Baycox, Seresto, Advocate, Drontal, Advantage and Advantix.

Through its product offering and community involvement, Bayer constantly strives to improve the lives of owners and their animals alike, by providing education on animal health management, particularly to farming communities in rural areas. Ensuring the continuing safety of the food we eat starts with educating and helping farmers, whether they are large commercial farmers or small scale communal or emerging farmers.

Southern Africa is also home to the only manufacturing plant in Africa located in Nigel, Johannesburg. The plant has handled formulation, packaging, labelling and logistics since 1982, and is one of the major keystones of operation in the Southern African region enabling Bayer to deliver the right product, on time, always across sub groups.
The plant is able to pack products for the diverse needs of the different types of farmers Bayer serves. The plant also serves neighboring countries and selected product to sub-Saharan Africa.