NIA aims high with goals

The National Innovation Agency (NIA) has set a lofty goal for Thailand to rank in the top 30 of the Global Innovation Index by 2030, moving up from 44th this year.

“The NIA will serve as an engine to drive Thai innovation, supporting inventors and entrepreneurs,” said Pun-Arj Chairatana, NIA executive director.

The agency outlined its vision for 202030 while celebrating its 10-year anniversary as a public organisation.

The NIA’s goal is to draw at least 3,000 international innovation-based firms of all sizes to expand into the overseas market.

A Business Development Department report found that Thailand has 3 million registered firms, but Mr Pun-Arj said the NIA believes that fewer than 1% of them are innovative firms.

“The market size of Thailand matters in terms of population and spending, but we have few internationalised firms, particularly SMEs, compared with Scandinavian countries that have low populations but their SMEs and startups succeed overseas,” Mr Pun-Arj said.

To achieve its goals, the NIA will cooperate with more international networks to make Thailand a landing pad and launching pad for overseas firms. So far the agency has partnered with Japan, Israel and Finland, among other countries.

The NIA will host business matching for foreign investment in Thailand and expand to overseas markets, not just for startups but also for medium to large enterprises.

The agency will sign a memorandum of understanding with the Foreign Ministry on innovation diplomacy for overseas market expansion.

The NIA will continue area-based innovation to drive innovation regionally by collaborating with community leaders.

“We will build top cities in Thailand like Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket for innovation in investment and living,” Mr Pun-Arj said.

Previously, 80% of the NIA’s budget focused on innovation grants and 20% for innovation systems.

The budget proportion has shifted, with 80% for strengthening and extending the innovation system through partnerships to speed up innovation adoption at regional and global levels.