Biotikum: A university spin-out African company specializing in microbial production for agriculture

In this episode I spoke with Dr Deon Neveling, the co-founder and CEO of Biotikum Ltd, which is a spin-off company of the Stellenbosch university in South Africa, that researches, develops and produces microbial additives for the agricultural industry to promote sustainable farming. During his studies, Deon developed a multistrain probiotic for chicken which they realized could be commercialized because the chicken industry is very well known for the unsustainable use of antibiotics as a preventative measure to fight pathogens. They observed there was a gap in the market for an African company capable of manufacturing microbial additives which also helps curb the spread of antimicrobial resistance genes. We spoke about: Deon's journey from PhD to starting Biotikum as a University spin-out company Skills and personality traits that enable success in entrepreneurship How to get around the most stated challenge to African biotech start-ups, funding Upcoming trend of biotechnology in Africa