Blue Biotechnology Startups in Bangladesh: An Empirical Evidence on Opportunities Barriers, and Pathways Forward
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54536/jebs.v2i1.6957Keywords:
Blue Biotechnology, Business, Entrepreneurship, Marine, StartupsAbstract
The global blue biotechnology sector, projected to exceed $10 trillion by 2030 through marine-derived pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, and sustainable aquaculture innovations, represents an unprecedented economic frontier that Bangladesh, endowed with 118,813 km² of exclusive economic zone and unparalleled Bay of Bengal biodiversity, remains uniquely positioned to capture through strategic startup ecosystem development. This pioneering study employs a quantitative cross-sectional survey (N=223) targeting Bangladesh’s blue biotechnology stakeholders, revealing a significant paradox: 93.3% exhibit entrepreneurial fervor, yet 75.3% perceive an investment crisis as the most existential operational threat, while 96.9% affirm the sector’s viability, despite 59.2% acknowledging knowledge deficits. Chi-square analyses (p < .001) reveal age-stratified challenge perceptions, with youth decrying government support voids, mid-career professionals’ infrastructure chasms, and gender-differentiated opportunity lenses. Males prioritize seafood demand (43.4%), while females focus on raw material abundance (28.1%). Marine natural products (39.9%) and aquaculture biotech (31.4%) emerge as consensus research priorities; however, a 40-point intention-investment chasm (93% vs. 53%) signals a capital ecosystem failure. Universal endorsement (100%) of university-industry symbiosis demands immediate institutionalization. This research fills the academic void on blue biotech entrepreneurship in developing countries, delivering battle-tested policy instruments: patient-capital venture funds, shared marine biobanks, formalized tech-transfer pipelines, and hybrid business models that fuse domestic aquaculture scaling with global pharma licensing. Bangladesh confronts a binary future: squander a trillion-dollar marine inheritance through inaction, or architect a blue biotech supernova catalyzing 21st-century economic transcendence. The empirical clarion call: convert 93% entrepreneurial fire into a $10B+ GDP alchemy through the ruthless execution of the knowledge-capital-infrastructure triad.
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