Haissam Chraiteh, country chair for Sanofi Algeria, expands on Sanofi’s ground-breaking foothold in Algerian local production, and how its partnership with the authorities ultimately manifests itself in better provision for patients.   What are your impressions of the Algerian market after two years here as country chair for Sanofi Algeria? From a business point of view, Algeria has a great deal to offer. Not only is this the second largest market on the African continent, but it is also a heavyweight when compared to the Middle Eastern markets. One of the characteristics that immediately stands out in Algeria is the sheer importance the authorities place on securing access to healthcare for patients. This is rather exceptional within the region. Algeria is one of the only countries where care is provided universally and covered by the state. Also distinctive is the maturity of the local healthcare infrastructure. Because of a robust contextual environment, enterprises like Sanofi are able to generate more of an impact than would otherwise be the case. This really encourages us to go the extra mile and strive for success.   How would you describe Sanofi’s legacy in Algeria? Looking at Sanofi over the last 27 years, we were an early mover in embracing the concept of local production way before localization became enshrined as a core government priority. We strongly believe that being close to the patient helps us better serve the local needs. We also believe we have talented Algerian workforce allowing us to manufacture our product locally with the same high quality standards as the one we have worldwide.

We were an early mover in embracing the concept of local production way before localization became enshrined as a core government priority