While the pandemic continues to have a huge impact on industries across Taiwan, it has created a range of opportunities for start-ups to control and mitigate the effects as well as help the economy and nation rebound. With support from the Taiwan Tech Arena (TTA) under the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST), almost a dozen start-ups have won accolades in a global design and innovation contest.
Over the past few years, MoST has actively promoted innovative technology with market potential and facilitated commercialisation and market globalisation for startups through TTA. Having two startups win the highest awards proves the strengths of Taiwan startups and their capability to compete with international tech giants.
With the rise of the residential leasing market in Asia, one of the gold-winning start-ups offers SaaS applications for residential property management with its proprietary cloud-based software solution. The platform automatically integrates information such as lease agreements, tenant information, lease terms, rents, repairs and smart home device management to effectively streamline and increase the efficiency of the property management business.
Similarly, a cybersecurity start-up, foreseeing the global demand of 5G and IoT, has developed a disruptive innovation for data security management. Unlike a traditional firewall, the solution focuses on its customers’ most important confidential files. After fragmenting the files, the fragments are each encrypted with blockchain technology. Not only does this effectively prevent theft and blackmail but also reduce the risk of file tampering.
As reported by OpenGov Asia, the Bureau of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) generated a wider dialogue on future technology trends. Its global design and innovation contest facilitates discussion on future technology trends for global information and communications technology (ICT) and the startup scene with a complete supply chain and IoT ecosystems.
Besides partnering with international accelerators to assist startups with mentorship and fundraising, TTA also leads startups to participate in global renowned exhibitions to establish Taiwan startup brand, create global market exposure opportunities, promote collaboration with international enterprises, and connect with overseas investors.
In response to changes in the global market in the post-pandemic era, TTA is exploring international potential through a location in Southern Taiwan. This is in efforts to further strengthen Taiwan’s innovation capabilities while continuing to help startups to showcase themselves at suitable global fora. They also collaborate with Taiwan Representative Offices worldwide along with trade associations and accelerator partners under an O2O strategy.
For the startups that won awards this year, TTA has started to work on connecting them with the global supply chain and creating a matchmaking platform to expose them to networks of entrepreneurial and corporate investors as well as enterprises for collaboration, enabling Taiwan startups to shine even brighter on the world stage.
Development of Startups in Taiwan
Taiwan’s startup ecosystem has blossomed over the last few years, with good performance in the international arena. The good performance is partly because of the Taiwan government’s effort in pushing forward policies of innovation and entrepreneurship in recent years.
Taiwan’s National Development Council has formulated the Action Plan for Enhancing Taiwan’s Startup Ecosystem. They propose 5 major policies:
- Providing ample early-stage funding for startups
- Developing talent and adjusting regulations
- Building partnership between startups and the government
- Providing startups with various exit channels
- Helping startups tap into global markets
By putting this plan into action, they can effectively create an environment favourable to startups. To do this effectively, all agencies involved need to take initiative to implement this plan to demonstrate the government’s commitment and capability.
