CenGen
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2003
- HeadquartersCape Town, South Africa
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
CenGen firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CenGen
- Legal name
- CenGen (Pty) Ltd
- Website
- https://cengen.co.za
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2003
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
CenGen industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Agricultural Genomics Services
- SIC
- Agricultural Services (700), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Genotyping Platforms & Services (SNP arrays, GBS, sequencing) (AFABALAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Digital Breeding & Bioinformatics Software (Breeding informatics, decision tools) (AFABALAL), Biotechnology & Gene-Edited Trait Development (AFAGAIAG)
Keywords
Where CenGen is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cape Town
- HQ country
- South Africa
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices1 record
Markets served
CenGen business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Genomic R&D Services: Specialized R&D services provided to plant breeders and agricultural industry including DNA fingerprinting, pathogen detection, marker-assisted selection, and whole genome sequencing. Services are tailored to client requirements with flexible experimental design and sample sizes.
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
CenGen product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CenGen provides specialized R&D genomic services to plant breeders and the agricultural industry from its Worcester laboratory in South Africa. Its core offering centers on high-throughput molecular genomic technologies including DNA fingerprinting for cultivar identity and purity testing, marker-assisted selection (MAS) for breeding programmes, whole genome sequencing of important plant species, agricultural pathogen detection, and species identity confirmation. Services are tailored to each client's unique requirements with flexible experimental design and sample sizes, serving crops such as wheat, barley, maize, grapevine, citrus, deciduous fruit, nut trees, and truffles.
Product overview
CenGen (Pty) Ltd is a specialized R&D services company that provides high-throughput genomic technologies to plant breeders and the agricultural industry. The core offering consists of Plant & Pathogen Genomic Services encompassing DNA fingerprinting for cultivar identity and purity testing, agricultural pathogen detection, whole genome sequencing, and marker-assisted selection for crop improvement. The company operates as a DIPLOMICS partner since 2018, contributing to the 1KSA biodiversity sequencing initiative. Additional services include educational outreach through the geneWorkshop series (geneTeachers and geneLearners programs), plant HMW DNA extraction training workshops, and specialized horticultural genetics services for pome fruit. The company serves diverse crops including wheat, barley, maize, grapevine, citrus, deciduous fruit, nut trees, and truffles, supporting both commercial breeding programs and academic research.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Plant & Pathogen Genomic Services Specialized R&D services providing high-throughput genomic technologies to plant breeders and the agricultural industry, covering crop and horticultural plants as well as fungi including wheat, barley, maize, grapevine, citrus, deciduous fruit, nut trees, truffles, and plant pathogens.
- DNA Fingerprinting Services Cultivar identity determinations and purity testing using DNA fingerprinting techniques for accurate cultivar identification and purity assessments in modern agriculture.
- Agricultural Pathogen Detection Molecular detection of plant pathogens and changes in pathogen genomes for disease management in agriculture.
- Whole Genome Sequencing Services Comprehensive sequencing and assembly of entire genomes of vital plant species, providing insights into genetic makeup and potential traits.
- Marker-Assisted Selection (MAS) Confirmation of presence or absence of specific genes to assist in selection of breeding lines, supporting molecular breeding programs for wheat, barley, and other crops.
- Species Identity Confirmation Assurance in species identity verification, including for industries such as truffle production where authenticity of species samples is critical.
- Direct RNA Sequencing Services Plant transcriptomics and gene annotation using high molecular weight RNA extraction and Direct RNA Sequencing on the Oxford Nanopore PromethION 2 Solo platform.
- Horticultural Genetics Services (Pome Fruit) Molecular genetics services to the South African horticultural industry in collaboration with Provar and funded by HORTGRO, including DNA marker exploitation for the pome fruit industry and genetic fingerprinting of apple rootstocks.
Quantifiable outcome
- Reduced breeding cycle time by 5+ years through combining doubled haploid programmes with MAS at CenGen
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use CenGen
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
CenGen technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature6 records
CenGen partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
17 partnerships are on record, tiered core, key and supporting.
- DIPLOMICScoreSince 2018, CenGen has been a member of DIPLOMICS, an initiative led by the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI). DIPLOMICS advances South Africa's position in 'omics'-based translational research and bio-economic development as part of the SARIR (South African Research Infrastructure Roadmap) program. The partnership provides research infrastructure resources, high-impact projects, human capital development programs, and significantly enhances CenGen's efforts to strengthen the agricultural sector.
- AB InBevcoreLong-time partner providing support through Public Interest Commitment Investments. Collaboration includes seed-based genotyping project, barley breeding programme support, and hosting AB InBev internship programme participants at CenGen laboratory.
- SABBI (South African Barley Breeding Institute)coreOngoing collaboration on barley breeding programme including molecular marker work, field trials, and joint research on disease resistance including stem rust and Ramularia.
- SensakocoreLong-standing collaboration on wheat breeding programmes including Molecular Service Laboratory (MSL) programme for marker-assisted selection. Sensako participates with both dryland and irrigation spring wheat programmes.
- PANNAR SEEDcoreInitial collaboration beginning in 1998 for wheat QTL mapping studies. PANNAR was one of the first to give CenGen the opportunity to demonstrate value in South African agriculture.
- ProvarkeyCollaboration with Provar funded by HORTGRO for exploiting DNA markers to benefit the pome fruit industry. Projects include genetic fingerprinting of apple rootstocks and developing genetic tests for pome fruit.
- SyngentakeyMolecular Service Laboratory project for wheat breeding programmes including routine application of marker-assisted selection.
- John Innes Centre (UK)keyCollaboration on bioinformatics training and wheat genomics workshops. Dr Diane Saunders and Dr Burkhard Steuernagel from JIC have provided multiple training sessions and workshops in South Africa since 2017.
- Corteva AgrisciencekeyCollaboration on wheat research including stem rust resistance characterization and open innovation grants. Provides field trial space and maintenance in South Africa.
- University of the Free State (UFS)keyAcademic collaboration including wheat and barley research projects with Prof Willem Boshoff, Prof Sakkie Pretorius, and graduate student training support.
- University of Minnesota (USA)keyInternational collaboration on barley rust resistance research including Prof Brian Steffenson and Dr Oadi Matny working on stem rust and barley disease research.
- 1KSA (1KSA: Decoding SA's Biodiversity)keyCenGen contributes to the 1KSA initiative through CenGen-1KSA programme, contributing species cards and genomic data for indigenous South African plant species including Veldkos/field food plants.
- SACTA (South African Cultivar and Technology Agency)supportingFunding provided for internship positions and workshop sponsorship including laboratory experience for agricultural sciences learners.
- ARC (Agricultural Research Council)keyCollaboration with ARC-Infruitec-Nietvoorbij on grape genetics and ARC-PHP on plant pathology including Fusarium Crown Rot research and pathogen characterization.
- Stellenbosch UniversitykeyAcademic partnership including bioinformatics workshops at SU Ukwanda campus in Worcester, graduate student hosting, and collaborative research projects.
- KAUSTkeyCollaboration on wheat gene cloning projects including successful competitive research grant programme for stripe rust resistance gene research.
- AfricaBP (African BioGenome Project)supportingParticipation in AfricaBP Open Institute Southern Africa Regional Workshop series for postgraduate student training on high molecular weight DNA extraction.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
CenGen competitors and assessment
Company assessmentRegional players
- BecA-ILRI Hub: African shared biosciences research platform hosted at ILRI in Nairobi; serves a similar African agricultural research clientele as CenGen with shared DIPLOMICS-adjacent mission, though operating as a non-profit research hub rather than commercial services firm.
- Agricultural Research Council (ARC) South Africa: South African government agricultural research institution collaborating with CenGen on wheat, grape, and plant pathology work; competes for some of the same applied genomics mandate in South African crops.
Broad incumbents
- Eurofins Genomics: Global life sciences services group with an agricultural genomics and seed testing portfolio; offers overlapping genotyping and plant pathogen detection capabilities but as part of a much broader testing services menu.
- Intertek: Multinational testing and certification group with agricultural and seed testing services; provides adjacent quality/cultivar authentication services to plant breeders and seed producers.
- SGS: Global inspection, verification, and testing company with agricultural services including seed health testing and crop science; overlaps with CenGen's cultivar verification and pathogen detection work.
- LGC Biosearch Technologies: Genomics tools and services provider (KASP genotyping, SNPline robotics — used by CenGen) serving plant breeding and agricultural markets with broader commercial reach and instrument manufacturing.
Direct peers
- TraitGenetics: German provider of molecular marker and genotyping services (SNP, SSR, KASP) for plant breeding programmes in wheat, barley, maize, and other crops; competes with CenGen for the same agricultural genomics service customers.
- KeyGene: Dutch molecular breeding and crop genomics company providing SNP genotyping, marker-assisted selection, and sequencing services to global plant breeders — the closest international analogue to CenGen's specialist service offering.
- Rapid Genomics: Smaller commercial genotyping services provider focused on agricultural and livestock applications, offering high-throughput SNP and sequencing services comparable to CenGen's core offering.
- DNA LandMarks: Canadian plant DNA fingerprinting, pathogen detection, and molecular breeding services company with similar service menu (cultivar identity, MAS, pathogen diagnostics) for agricultural clients.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
CenGen social profiles
Digital presenceCenGen financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CenGen leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles11 records
CenGen funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
CenGen M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about CenGen
What does CenGen do?
CenGen provides specialized R&D genomic services to plant breeders and the agricultural industry from its Worcester laboratory in South Africa. Its core offering centers on high-throughput molecular genomic technologies including DNA fingerprinting for cultivar identity and purity testing, marker-assisted selection (MAS) for breeding programmes, whole genome sequencing of important plant species, agricultural pathogen detection, and species identity confirmation. Services are tailored to each client's unique requirements with flexible experimental design and sample sizes, serving crops such as wheat, barley, maize, grapevine, citrus, deciduous fruit, nut trees, and truffles.
Is CenGen a public or private company?
CenGen is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was CenGen founded?
CenGen was founded in 2003. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is CenGen based?
CenGen is headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa, in the Africa region.
How does CenGen make money?
One revenue line is on record: genomic R&D Services.
Who are CenGen's main competitors?
Regional players on record are BecA-ILRI Hub and Agricultural Research Council (ARC) South Africa. Broad incumbents are Eurofins Genomics, Intertek, SGS and LGC Biosearch Technologies. Direct peers are TraitGenetics, KeyGene, Rapid Genomics and DNA LandMarks.
Does CenGen have an API?
No public API is recorded for CenGen.
What industry is CenGen in?
CenGen's product category is Agricultural Genomics Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFABALAE, Genotyping Platforms & Services (SNP arrays, GBS, sequencing), with a secondary code of AFABALAL, Digital Breeding & Bioinformatics Software (Breeding informatics, decision tools). Its SIC code is 700.