A snapshot of the successful bio-clusters around the world: Lessons for South African biotechnology

Abstract

Development of clusters has been one of the critical factors in the success of many countries in the field of biotechnology. Most of the literature has been focused on the biotechnology clusters in developed countries and much less attention has been paid to the development of biotechnology clusters in developing countries. The aim of this research is to exploit the successful bio-clusters in selected developing countries such as Brazil, Cuba, India and China and to learn some lessons for South African bio-clusters. Research found that government played a critical role in creating successful bio-clusters in these developing countries. In South Africa there is evidence of emerging clusters in the Gauteng and Western Cape regions, based on the number of companies concentrated within the regions. With strong government support, these regions could be an important biotechnology hub in Africa continent.