11 Small Business Ideas in the Biotechnology Industry

Biotechnologists have been helping to improve the quality of life and health in the world for years. A lot of innovative food products, drugs and technologies have come out of the biotechnologist’s den, and we have them to thank for various feats in the reducing nasty human footprint on the environment, combating and reducing various diseases, increasing availability of food, and conserving energy and water resources.

The importance of this field of science is becoming even more glaring, as governments have continued to pump funds into the industry to encourage more entrepreneurs to invest in it, so that more life changing discoveries and innovations can be made.

However, to invest in this booming industry, you would need an idea to fly with—not just any idea, but a viable one guaranteed to bring profit. I also like to think that the primary focus of investors in this industry is not just to make money, but to touch lives. Therefore, the biotechnology business ideas listed below are not just profit-giving ones but also life-enhancing ones.

11 Small Business Opportunities in the Biotechnology Industry

1. Healthcare
Many dangerous diseases have crept into our world today and as we struggle to combat them, new diseases keep cropping up. Therefore, it would be a very good idea to launch a company that would carry out extensive research on how to use genetics to cure several diseases. There should also be focus on developing drugs that will help to prevent and fight such diseases.

2. Water conservation
It’s quite strange that, even though a large part of the earth is covered in water, availability of clean water is still a problem in the world today. Very few countries have access to clean water because of the degree of pollution brought about by industrialization. Biotechnologists can help to reduce this problem by coming up with water treatment plants that would focus on converting wastewater to safe drinking water.

3. Biodiesel production
Another challenge we are facing in the world today is fuel shortage. We need fuel in almost every aspect of life—for feeding, transportation etc. However, the sources of fuel that we have today are simply too costly and conveniently affordable by the rich only. But vegetable and animal fats can be converted into biodiesel which is an alternative and cheaper source of fuel.

4. Food production
Researchers are of the opinion that with the high rate at which food is consumed and the slow rate at which it is grown, there might be a global famine in the next 50 years. This is because when the rate of food consumption exceeds the rate of growth, it could lead to a shortage of world food supply. It has therefore become important for innovators and technologists to go back to the drawing board and come up with ways to boost food production. This is just one of the sectors biotechnologists can invest in.

5. Waste processing-: Another business idea is to invest in waste management and processing, so that waste products can be converted into useful and resalable materials.

6. Regenerative medicine-: This is another hot idea for investors. Stem cell transplants and tissue engineering are gaining more recognition as acceptable ways for treating organ damage or failure in humans.

7. Faster medical diagnostics
When people have fast and cheap access to diagnostics, the rate of mortality from diseases would be reduced. Biotechnologists can come up with ways of using information technology in combination with nanotechnology to create personalized and accurate diagnostic systems that would also be inexpensive.

8. Soil improvement
Humans have continued to abuse the cheapness and availability of arable lands so much that this resource, as important as it is, has now become threatened. Arable land is now in short supply. Bio-regeneration and bio-augmentation are some of the ways through which biotechnologists can help to restore arable lands and make farmlands more productive.

9. Biotechnology training school-: Another idea to make money in the biotech industry is to set up a school or training institute where aspiring biotechnologists can learn and conduct research into various life improvement programs.

10. Biotechnology consultant-: If you don’t have the funds to invest in any of the businesses listed above, a great idea for you would be to render consulting services to biotechnology companies but you have to be an expert in this field to be able to do this.
There are also opportunities for investors in several industries like agriculture, automobile and even the communication industry. What you simply need to do is search for a need or a yearning of the people and think of how a biotechnologist is relevant in solving that problem and there it is—you have your business idea!

11  Poultry farming-:  Biotechnology has become a wonderful aid for improvement of growth in livestock sector. Investing in poultry farming as a biotechnologist is to bring about increase in breed species. And poultry farming has been a lucrative business with high demand of chicken meat and egg.