BENGALURU:Biotechnology start-ups in the country face great difficulty in getting adequate funding. Majority of the start-ups are dependent on government funding and usually, they receive early-stage funding. However, sustaining it to the next level remains a challenge.
There are as many as 1,022 start-ups in the bio-technology sector with one-third of it being run by women entrepreneurs. This growth has been witnessed in the past five years, said P M Murali, president, Association of Biotechnology-led Enterprises (ABLE), interacting with Express on the sidelines of the Bio-Invest 2017 here on Tuesday. The event is aimed at providing an interaction platform for start-ups and investors.
ABLE has sought to double the number of start-ups in the BT sector, over the next five years. The association has been annually running a boot camp by picking the best startups in the sector. The investors meet sought to connect the entrepreneurs with investors, he added.
Nonetheless, funding remains a challenge. “That is still something which we need to focus on. It’s not all rosy up here. There is some government intervention that comes in early stage funding. However, series B and C funding is a problem. Unfortunately that is still not growing in a bit way,” he explained.
The BT sector has not seen much of venture capital investments and is largely dependent on either government funding or angel investors, he added.
Medical instrumentation, bio IT and artificial intelligence sectors would play a big role in the growth of the BT industry, he said.
“We need to get prepared for agriculture requirements in 2050,” Murali explained.