*```EXPLOIT WEBINAR 3 (THE BUSINESS SIDE OF MICROBIOLOGY: BIOENTREPRENEUR/MICROPRENEUR)*```
29/09/2017

*Moderator:* Good evening and welcome to another edition of Exploit Webinar.
My name is Oseni Kebiru(Albani Kb) A part two Student of Microbiology, Obafemi Awolowo University
Today's edition will be Centred on *The Business side of Microbiology: Bioentrepreneurship/Micropreneur*
I will like to welcome our Speakers to Introduce themselves.

*Speaker:* Good evening everyone.
I'm Ajagbe Damilare
A 400level microbiology student,OAU

*Speaker:* Good evening ✋�
I am Mbaneme Benjamin, Mazi
A graduate Microbiologist

*Moderator Albani:* Welcome and thanks for honouring the invitation, it is a great honour to have you here tonight..

*Speaker Damilare:* It's a privilege to be here as one of the speakers. Hope we do have a great time together this evening..

*Speaker Mazi:* A pleasure sir

*Moderator Albani:* I will like our speakers to briefly talk about the Topic.
Mr. Benjamin Sir..

*Speaker Mazi:* Alright, thank you Albani
Good evening once again,
It appears the conveners of this programme decided to set me up in assigning a topic pertaining money to me�, …because I am an Easterner. �
Nonetheless, it is a privilege to be considered a party to this platform, and sincerely regard the organisers and participants alike in high esteem. ��

*Business enterprise is limitless*, it’s primarily a function of being able to *meet a need*. The ubiquity of microorganisms makes entrepreneurial *opportunities abound within the field of Applied Microbiology*, with these opportunities increasing with advancement in the field ( _i.e. Post Graduate Studies_ ) and in available technology.
For the sake of this discussion, I have managed to split this resource into distinct interest points, hence if it poses a challenge for some persons to exhaust the entire material, you scan skim to your area of primary interest, and explore…

� *Agricultural Micropreneur*
� *Industrial Micropreneur*
� *Medical Micropreneur*
� *Environmental Micropreneur*

For time constraint and to enable easy assimilation, I will ensure to employ *rudimentary but vital information*, which you can elaborate on when due. I have also tried to avoid ambiguity in terms used. Kindly read through carefully.

[9/29, 20:18] Mazi: *AGRICULTURAL MICROPRENEUR* ��
Before present civilisation, the earth’s ecosystem had been self-sustaining, human agricultural needs were compensated for by natural replenishment. Human induced alterations to nature disrupted this balance, hence peoples around the world have been applying concerted efforts to manage this imbalance, especially in agriculture, even as world population continue to increase with an inverse effect on food supply.
*A bulk of these corrective measures are dependent on the microbiota of the soil, and Microbiologists are opportune to tap in*. Laboratory cultured organisms like *_Rhizobium sp_*. when systematically inoculated to a damaged soil perform the functions of fertilizers, depending on purpose, without having detrimental effects on the soil. This type of fertilizer is called *biofertilizer*, and are *soon to replace the conventional fertilizers*. For brevity, the process required to initiate this process is not complicated, you only require the *apparatus to culture the organisms*, and a *carrier material* in which the organism is temporary stored, then you grow gradually in capacity.
The practice of using biofertilizers is still emerging, *those who will rule the industry in the nearest future must begin now, especially in Nigeria, and Africa by extension*.
Songhai farms, the largest in West Africa began on a "barren land", microbiologically transformed, also the world renowned farm of our own Professor Olu Odeyemi is microbiologically sustained.
Genetic engineering in agriculture is another novel venture, although technological advancement needed for sophisticated genetic engineering is still crawling in this part of the world, *crude procedures can give desired results*. Various organisms produce various materials; bacteria, fungi or algae, due to present limitations in conventional agricultural nutrient supply, *microorganisms can be primed to produce a particular material in excess through random mutation* (which you will, or have done in Microbial genetics). *You just extract the target material, purify it, package, and sell*. Just as you have with *single cell proteins*, you don’t have to slaughter cows or chicken during festivities, just slaughter a microorganism.�
_These processes might seem strange or extraneous, but that’s what entrepreneurs do, they do new things in better ways_.

*INDUSTRIAL MICROPRENEUR* ⚗
Many industrial processes depend on microbial action, especially in the *food, energy and pharmaceutical industries*. You don’t have to own a big factory or company before you can be an industry player, *from your backyard, you can begin producing your own food, energy and medicine*, and subsequently sell to other people. These ideas can begin from the common products we know, like palmwine. Our local palmwine is fermented crudely, but the taste and alcohol content of plamwine can be modified through coordinated fermentation, have you thought of producing banana, strawberry or orange flavoured palmwine, with less alcohol content? *Big things begin small.*
There is an abundance of industrial processes which are powered by microbiological processes, *you can be involved with them, or even modify the present state, and build a market for yourself*. (Please don’t steal my palmwine idea.) ✋�
You could achieve a lot more with *post graduate training in microbiology*, especially in research based production.
Other Microbiological Industrial processes include;
� *Biofuel production*
� *Enzyme production, eg protease enzyme used in making detergents.*
� *Diary production, eg Yoghourts.*
� *Brewing, etc*

*MEDICAL MICROPRENEUR* ��
The peculiarity of Medical Microbiology is its high *requirement of adherence to detail*, because in most cases, it deals directly with life. It shouldn’t be new to us as Microbiologists that many disease conditions are caused by pathogens, hence in proffering treatment, a pathogen must first be Isolated from its host. Sticking to rudimentary knowledge for the sake of this presentation, a Medical Micropreneur can venture into measuring the susceptibility pattern of *pathogenic microbes to herbal extracts*, especially with animal diseases, we know of human herbal drugs, we can *begin considering herbal remedies to animal diseases*?Processes involving bacterial pathogens are less expensive compared to viral.
Medical Microneurship on a broader scale requires more extensive involvements which due to constraints of this webinar session, will not be delved into, but possesses immense potentials if one has the resource or opportunity to attain the requisite skill, *especially in the field of Virology*.
A number of pharmaceutical companies in Nigeria and China *began from producing herbal remedies to diseases*. You could begin by testing the susceptibility of pathogenic bacteria to the local herbs in your environment or available local herbal concoctions. To further standardise your research, you can partner with research organisations like FIIRO, or PG students on further pharmacological studies of the herbal extract's activity.
*You could have the cure of a disease in your backyard all these while.* Just try...

*ENVIRONMENTAL MICROPRENEUR* ��
With an increase in human mediated processes, human waste perpetually increases, posing danger to the environment and life generally. *These wastes can be converted into more useful forms like, biofuel, fertilizer, substrate for other processes, etc*. For example, Actinomycetes can be used to degrade organic wastes like fruit peelings or faeces for the production of *methane* or *Nitrogen based fertilizer*, an Environmental Micropreneur needs not purchase these waste, as they are everywhere, *hence incurring no cost on raw materials*, but profits from the sale of the end product. These microorganisms can be isolated from the environment and cultured.