InfoQuest, (Sept. 9, 2019) -- Thailand encountered many obstacles in promoting and developing startups in the past period and lacked a complete ecosystem for the establishment and development of startups, said Thai Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Somkid Jatusripitak. Given that the likes of HK Cyberport are set up to take charge of the establishment and development of startups in foreign countries, the Thai government also wanted to form a private body to coordinate and consolidate all departments. As a result, InnoSpace (Thailand) was born as a body responsible for promoting the establishment and development of startups in Thailand. Real sector, service sector, aviation sector, telecommunications sector and industrialization of agriculture will be its focus so as to keep in alignment with Thailand's target sectors.
EECi's VISTEC, a pilot area of Thailand's Smart City project, is chosen as InnoSpace's seat, as Thailand endeavors to create an innovation platform integrating technology, research and potential startups. In addition, EEC is also an important project, which is the gateway to CLMV and ASEAN and linked with China's Greater Bay Area, and can provide global development opportunities for Thailand's startups.
In order to promote the implementation of InnoSpace (Thailand), strong backing is necessary including educational institutions that pool experts and research achievements, and financial institutions that connect with capital channels and promote business development. With capital and professional experience, the private institutions will invest in potential startups; the government departments will formulate promotion policies and other supporting measures.
"Today, the government departments, the private institutions and the financial institutions signed an investment cooperation agreement about promoting and supporting innovative and startup enterprises, which will make related work more smooth and promote and support the global development of Thailand's startups through investment cooperation. This will be a mechanism that can promote Thailand's economic growth and put Thailand on track towards an Innovation-driven Economy," said Mr. Somkid.
According to Thailand's Industry Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit, the Department of Industrial Promotion (DIP) of the Ministry of Industry (MOI) endeavors to develop the InnoSpace (Thailand) project into a platform that can improve the development ecosystem for startups and help enhance their global competitiveness. InnoSpace (Thailand) is in a good position to contact, consolidate and collaborate with all domestic and international partners, and it will facilitate cooperation in research and innovation in the form of Investment Partner, Incubation Partner and Technology & Knowledge Partner to foster sustainable startups.
In order to ensure the smooth operation of InnoSpace (Thailand) Co., Ltd. and accelerate the development of innovative enterprises and startups, today the department has taken concrete actions together with 13 investment partners to develop InnoSpace (Thailand) Co., Ltd. into a Startup Platform, and pooled resources and consolidated work in all aspects to avoid overlapping responsibilities and help build a strong ecosystem, so as to help Thailand's startups move up to the unicorn level, and foster enterprises that meet the needs of future economic and social development.
Mr. Tevin Vongvanich, consultant within InnoSpace (Thailand) Co., Ltd., said that InnoSpace (Thailand) was jointly established by the government, private enterprises and educational institutions according to the guidelines of Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, with the aim of creating an innovative ecosystem that supports the incubation and development of Thailand's startups and a National Platform that helps enhance Thai startups' global competitiveness, lay the foundations for national economic system and create benefits for the country. Its goal is to provide support for Thai startups in the Deep Tech industry or target industries with potential throughout life cycle including Pre-Seed or Seed stages.
The investment cooperation agreement signed today is to confirm the consensus on supporting the operation intention of InnoSpace (Thailand) Co., Ltd., including professional experience and operation network support and an initial investment of 500 million Thai baht. The partners who signed the agreement are: 1. PTT Public Company Limited (PTT). 2. Bangkok Dusit Medical Services (BDMS). 3. Bangkok Bank Public Company Limited (BBL). 4. Krung Thai Bank (KTB). 5. Kasikorn Bank (KBANK). 6. Siam Commercial Bank (SCB). 7. Charoen Pokphand Group (CP). 8. True Corporation Public Company Limited (TRUE). 9. Thai Beverage Public Company Limited. 10. Thailand Union Group Limited (TU). 11. SAHAPAT CO., LTD. 12. Bangkok Airways Public Co., Ltd. (BA). 13. Small and Medium Enterprise Development Bank of Thailand (SME Bank).
InnoSpace (Thailand) Co., Ltd. will put its focus on connecting the government, enterprises and educational institutions to support the development of startups together so as to realize synergy, alignment and gap filling whist avoiding overlapping with the existing mechanisms. Its ultimate goal is to put Thailand on track towards an innovation-driven economy, help Thailand's startups move up to the unicorn level and sharpen the competitive edge of Thai enterprises according to national 4.0 policy.
Source: InfoQuest, by Jeerayuth Junsongsakun / Kasamarporn / Rachada, translated by Xinhua Silk Road
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