18/11/2020
Thailand's policies to support startups - Part 1According to Startup Blink, Thailand’s startup ecosystem ranks 10th in the Asia-Pacific region with prominent startup cities such as Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Pattaya, etc. Apart from developing their tourism scene, Thailand also attracts many foreign talents to live there and is known as a country with extremely innovative policies to promote entrepreneurship.Since 2017, Bangkok has been considered one of the most vibrant startup ecosystems in Southeast Asia with a total venture capital funding of 120 million USD, In which the E-commerce industry hasattracted about 101 million USD, with prominent names such as Zilingo, aCommerce and Pomelo. The Fintech sector with 128 startups also shows a leading trend with names like Claim Di, Finnomena and StockRadars, accounting for 13.8% of the total investment.
Since 2018, capital inflows into the startup market have become more diversified, plentiful and substantial in deal size in not only artificial intelligence, machine learning, healthcare technology but also the aviation, agriculture and tourism sector. However, E-commerce is still the most robust industry of this country with a valuation of 3.5 billion USD in 2018, and the market is expected to grow by 13.2% per year, estimated at 5.8 billion USD by 2022.
Technology and digital transformation
To achieve these results, Thailand has actively enacted strong policies to support digital transformation and promote technology since 2016. Initially, from Thailand 1.0 economy model with the emphasis on agriculture and light industry to Thailand 2.0 focusing on domestic production, Thailand 3.0 promote heavy industry and energy to attract foreign investment and become a production hub for export. However, the strategy has also entangled Thailand in the middle-income trap, class discrimination and uneven development. Therefore, Thailand 4.0 was born.
The 2016 Thailand 4.0 plan focuses on ten areas, developing existing industries by applying high technology: automation and robotics, smart electronics, luxury travel and medical tourism, smart agriculture and biotechnology, food technology innovation, aerospace technology, bioenergy and biochemistry, digital and health.
At the same time, the Digital Thailand Plan launched in April 2016 focusing on promoting the construction of essential digital infrastructure for the public, including international standard data centres, and innovation experimental zones, IoT hub, ... Thai people are encouraged to use digital technology effectively to minimise costs and remove restrictions in all aspects for the public and private sectors. The most prominent result in this plan is the formation of the True Digital Park with public-private partnership, considered the largest technology park for creative startups in Southeast Asia.
Besides Technology and digital transformation, Thailand government also provide many other support packages that can help boost the growth of startups nationwide. In next part of this article we will look into other initiatives that Thailand government takes which enable startups in the ecosystem thrive. Some of these is Thailand Startup Act, the Regulatory Sandbox Act, the Thailand Bayh-Dole Act. Attracting international investment resources for creative startups is considered highlight in Thailand policies for startup ecosystem.
For next part, please visit this link:
http://startup.gov.vn/Pages/chi-tiet-tin-tuc.aspx?l=Tintucsukien&ItemID=314
According to Startup Blink, Thailand’s startup ecosystem ranks 10th in the Asia-Pacific region with prominent startup cities such as Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Pattaya, etc. Apart from developing their tourism scene, Thailand also attracts many foreign talents to live there and is known as a country with extremely innovative policies to promote entrepreneurship.
Since 2017, Bangkok has been considered one of the most vibrant startup ecosystems in Southeast Asia with a total venture capital funding of 120 million USD, In which the E-commerce industry hasattracted about 101 million USD, with prominent names such as Zilingo, aCommerce and Pomelo. The Fintech sector with 128 startups also shows a leading trend with names like Claim Di, Finnomena and StockRadars, accounting for 13.8% of the total investment.
Since 2018, capital inflows into the startup market have become more diversified, plentiful and substantial in deal size in not only artificial intelligence, machine learning, healthcare technology but also the aviation, agriculture and tourism sector. However, E-commerce is still the most robust industry of this country with a valuation of 3.5 billion USD in 2018, and the market is expected to grow by 13.2% per year, estimated at 5.8 billion USD by 2022.
Technology and digital transformation
To achieve these results, Thailand has actively enacted strong policies to support digital transformation and promote technology since 2016. Initially, from Thailand 1.0 economy model with the emphasis on agriculture and light industry to Thailand 2.0 focusing on domestic production, Thailand 3.0 promote heavy industry and energy to attract foreign investment and become a production hub for export. However, the strategy has also entangled Thailand in the middle-income trap, class discrimination and uneven development. Therefore, Thailand 4.0 was born.
The 2016 Thailand 4.0 plan focuses on ten areas, developing existing industries by applying high technology: automation and robotics, smart electronics, luxury travel and medical tourism, smart agriculture and biotechnology, food technology innovation, aerospace technology, bioenergy and biochemistry, digital and health.
At the same time, the Digital Thailand Plan launched in April 2016 focusing on promoting the construction of essential digital infrastructure for the public, including international standard data centres, and innovation experimental zones, IoT hub, ... Thai people are encouraged to use digital technology effectively to minimise costs and remove restrictions in all aspects for the public and private sectors. The most prominent result in this plan is the formation of the True Digital Park with public-private partnership, considered the largest technology park for creative startups in Southeast Asia.
Besides Technology and digital transformation, Thailand government also provide many other support packages that can help boost the growth of startups nationwide. In next part of this article we will look into other initiatives that Thailand government takes which enable startups in the ecosystem thrive. Some of these is Thailand Startup Act, the Regulatory Sandbox Act, the Thailand Bayh-Dole Act. Attracting international investment resources for creative startups is considered highlight in Thailand policies for startup ecosystem.
For next part, please visit this link:
http://startup.gov.vn/Pages/chi-tiet-tin-tuc.aspx?l=Tintucsukien&ItemID=314