Advancing Africa's bioeconomy and biosolutions through microbial natural product discovery: unlocking indigenous...

SUMMARYAfrica's rich microbial diversity presents a significant opportunity to drive innovation in healthcare, agriculture, and industrial biotechnology through microbial natural product discovery. However, despite its potential, the continent remains underrepresented in the global bioeconomy due to limited microbial culture repositories, inadequate genomic sequencing infrastructure, and weak commercialization models. This review highlights the critical role of microbial biotechnology in advancing Africa's bioeconomy and outlines a roadmap for leveraging indigenous microbial resources. By exploring the Bacterial and Viral Bioinformatics Resource Center (BV-BRC) database, we compiled the genomic distribution of traditional model and emerging non-model bacterial chassis indigenous to Africa. Although the survey is limited to BV-BRC data, this approach provides a reliable snapshot of microbial bioresources suitable for omics-driven biosolution development. The review integrates database insights with literature evidence to identify key microbial genera for further investigation. Key areas include microbial bioprospecting, functional omics, biofortification, and synthetic biology as drivers of sustainable innovation. Challenges such as scaling up biomanufacturing, bridging research-industry gaps, and establishing microbial biofoundries and biobanks are discussed as critical to strengthening Africa's biotechnology landscape. This paper also emphasizes the importance of enabling policy frameworks, strategic funding mechanisms, and public-private partnerships to accelerate commercialization pathways. By investing in microbial biotechnology, Africa can enhance food security, reduce dependency on chemical synthetic inputs, and address pressing issues such as antimicrobial resistance. Strengthening omics research capacity, expanding biomanufacturing infrastructure, and fostering cross-sector collaboration are essential steps toward unlocking Africa's untapped bioeconomic potential and positioning the continent as a global hub for sustainable biosolutions.