The National Innovation Agency (NIA) has vowed to continue working with 40 universities nationwide to promote entrepreneurism and encourage local businesses and start-ups.
Pun-arj Chairatana, executive director of the NIA, said the Startup Thailand League programme has engaged more than 70,000 students from public and private universities over the past five years.
About 1,350 teams have received funding to develop innovative products with 50 resulting companies now generating a yearly income of 500 million combined, Mr Pun-arj said.
With this success rate, he said the NIA will continue collaborating with the universities to encourage students to develop innovations and provide the support and resources they need to launch their own start-ups with the Startup Thailand League programme.
The programme is made up of two core elements — a Coaching Camp to teach the fundamentals of development and innovation in the startup sector and Pitching Startup Thailand League in which the young participants will get the chance to pitch their business plans to prospective investors.
According to Mr Pun-arj, more than 400 teams took part in Pitching Startup Thailand League and 200 received funding. A team of students from Chiang Mai University’s medical technology faculty won the competition for their work on erythrocyte sedimentation rate tests (a type of haematology test used as a non-specific measure of inflammation).
He said that four teams went on to set up registered companies with starting capital of four million baht and 48 other teams joined other programmes such as the Technology and Innovation-based Enterprise Development Fund and Research to Market.
Anek Laothamatas, the minister of Higher Education Science Research and Innovation, said collaboration between the 40 universities in the Startup Thailand League programme will promote an ecosystem favourable to start-up growth. “It will also create new entrepreneurs with access to resources needed for their businesses’ development,” he added.
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