Thailand
Thailand: State preps projects to spur digital growth
The government is preparing to roll out various projects to drive the economy based on its Thailand 4.0 policy, aiming to cooperate with the private sector to grow startups to reach the unicorn level, says Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn, the digital economy and society minister.
He was speaking during the final round of ‘Spark Ignite 2021 – Thailand Start-up Competition’, jointly organised by Huawei Technologies Thailand along with the government and companies.
“Thai startups are a key element that can create new innovation,” said Mr Chaiwut.
He said collaboration with the private sector through activities and competition events can help develop Thai startups and accelerate their growth, in turn “enabling them to become unicorn-level companies”.
Driven by Huawei’s continuous support through technologies and ecosystem resources, Thai digital startups can gain more exposure and scale up their potential to international level, Mr Chaiwut said.
The startup competition provides a good model of cooperation between the government, private sector and other industry partners to drive innovations and create access to global markets, he said.
Huawei said the competition is part of its commitment to support Thailand to become the digital hub in Asean.
Abel Deng, chief executive of Huawei Technologies Thailand, said various innovations and technologies have played a crucial role in helping restore and create new opportunities for both business and the social sector, which have been impacted by the pandemic.
“Huawei believes that startups are a growing force for discovery and will be a driver of innovation,” he said. “Their potential can create more job opportunities, support post-pandemic economic recovery and inject new energy.”
The competition event opens the door for knowledge sharing and know-how and the project is part of an effort to drive the digital economy and Thailand 4.0 policy, Mr Deng said.
The project began in May with more than 132 participating teams from various industries. Ten finalist teams took part in the final pitches.
The three winning teams will be eligible to participate in the Huawei Spark Accelerator Program, which aims to incubate and elevate the growth of tech startups in order to build a digital ecosystem.
According to Mr Deng, Huawei is collaborating with global tech leaders and experts from various industries to provide advice and consultation for Thai startups, access global platforms and increase opportunities to build partner networks for business benefits and expansion, in addition to promoting products and services.
Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2190007/state-preps-projects-to-spur-digital-growth