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SA’s new bio-hacking start-up accelerator opens doors

Not wanted to over editorialise here, but is the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) the parastatal that can do no wrong at the moment? Hot on the heels of news that it’s helped develop ground-breaking laser technology and brought its assembled brains to bear on the problem of rhino poaching, CSIR has also just finished its R90m Biomanufacturing Industry Development Centre (BIDC), some three months ahead of schedule.

BIDC is described as a state of the art lab for small businesses who can’t afford to build one of their own to come and research, test and take to market new technologies and products in biomanufacturing. While that sounds excitingly like it will involve genetic experimentation and DNA splicing, the reality is somewhat more prosaic. CSIR describes biomanufacturing as:

natural product extraction; microbial fermentation; biocatalysis; and cell culture. Irrespective of how the biomass is generated, all technologies require downstream processing (usually extraction and purification), followed by formulation, filling and packaging.

Essentially, it’s a hackerspace for chemists designed to give small, home grown businesses a bit of a leg-up to compete with multinationals and provide jobs and economic stimulus along the way. There will also be business incubation programs aimed at getting bio-start-ups off the ground too – the initial target is to launch at least 12 firms from BIDC in the first three years. According to CSIR, the BIDC could be worth up to R180m a year to the overall economy.

Interested in pitching to be one of those 12? There’s an application form over at the CSIR’s site here.

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