It is an appreciable rumour that innovation starts from home. It starts from the land you call your motherland, that has your spirit and soul tied to it. Entrepreneurs diving into the pool of uncertainty to make India, the next superpower, deserve limitless applause. Business Outreach Magazine’s community is lit up by yet another exceptional visionary, whose wisdom and 17 years of corporate banking experience evolved into a holistic aura of building in the biotechnology industry.
Dr. Rajasekaran Samykan is a first-generation entrepreneur from Erode, Tamil Nadu. He is the Founder & CEO of Algaven PhytoBiotech Innovations (A unit of JE JE Enterprises Pvt Ltd), who has invested his industry experience and business scalability acumen in developing innovative products from algae, natural extracts, and agri-waste, promoting value addition and entrepreneurship in rural India. Dr. Rajasekaran dedicated his life to rural development. He recollects a rather disturbing memory when he identified a huge gap in the agricultural industry, where products from farmers were not getting the right market valuation, ultimately leading to negligible sales. He created Algaven PhytoBiotech to research and prepare scalable business models across spirulina farming, nutraceutical product manufacturing, botanical art, and waste-to-wealth innovations, with a selfless goal in empowering local communities and creating sustainable livelihoods.
With an education in botany and an Honorary Doctorate in Entrepreneurship and Innovations, Dr. Rajasekaran Samykan was always inclined towards biotechnology and the life sciences. Evidently, he had to gather monumental courage to leave a stable job in the banking industry and literally start entrepreneurship from scratch. He vividly remembers the good old early days, when he worked late nights after his regular job, experimenting with spirulina, food powders, and natural extracts in a small rented space with basic tools. Dr. Rajasekaran still remembers delivering his first spirulina consignment personally. That was nothing extraordinary in terms of sales but it gave him a pilot strategy towards building Algaven and ideating a sustainable scalability.
Just like every success story, challenges are just a byproduct. Dr. Rajasekaran had to dip his toe into hours of insightful discussions to partner with limited investors for funding, build trust among farmers and rural communities and to clear any fog of skepticism. Today, Dr. Rajasekaran is proud of Algaven’s product growing to have global relevance. He is also fulfilled in his journey to mentor and guide some of the best rising minds in the industry of entrepreneurship.
Algaven PhytoBiotech pioneered in the biotechnology industry while additionally diversifying the product portfolio into offering Spirulina Farming & Value Addition (Nutraceuticals, Animal Feed, Cosmeceuticals), Natural Food Powders & Herbal Extracts (Garlic, Onion, Tomato, Banana, Curry Leaves, Mint, etc.), Phycocyanin (Blue Spirulina) Production — A high-value natural colorant and antioxidant, Waste-to-Wealth Products (Eggshell Powder, Mango Seed Oil, Orange Peel Extracts) and Botanique Frames — India’s first commercial botanical frame concept blending art, science, and entrepreneurship. Rajasekaran is involved a great deal over mentoring where he have had students like Ms. Hepzhiba (Ledgify) in the Accounting & Business Services industry, Ms. Beula (Earnify) from Women & Youth Sales Empowerment Platform, Mrs. Suma K (Sumaa Nutri Agro) with Complete Business Setup and Market Linkage and many others. Looking ahead, Dr. Rajasekaran Samykan said, “My vision is to empower 100+ women entrepreneurs, farmers, and rural youth by building sustainable agriculture models, promoting value-added farming, and creating biotech-based enterprises that generate lasting livelihoods.”
