True Incube tags 6 partners for Thai SME ramp-up
True Incube, Thailand’s leading tech startup incubator and accelerator under True Corporation, has teamed up with six domestic and international partners to strengthen local startups.
The six venture capital firms are Alibaba Group’s Ant Financial from China; Huawei; Techsauce; Thai Airways International Plc; Google Asia-Pacific and True Digital Park.
The collaboration aims to make Thai startups more competitive in the global market. Participating startups also have the opportunity to partner with startups in other countries and join True’s various collaborative projects.
Adrian Vanzyl, Thailand country head for Google Asia-Pacific marketing, said the company is supporting Thai tech startups, as small businesses and startups account for almost 50% of the country’s GDP.
These businesses have also demonstrated strong revenue growth, he said.
Mr Vanzyl said Google Asia-Pacific and Thai startups will benefit from knowledge-sharing.
Techsauce will provide an online community for Thai startups to reach out globally via its strong media platform.
“True Digital Park provides a physical community and convenient place to do business as it is fully equipped with an integrated telecommunications system and smart solutions for smart living such as the True Digital Park application, an entry and exit system, online reservations for meeting rooms, robotics, and IoT solutions such as smart parking and metering,” he said.
Teerapon Tanomsakyut, chief innovation and sustainability officer for True Corporation, said he hopes to see Thai tech startups shine beyond Thailand’s borders, in line with True Incube’s vision of helping them gain traction on the global stage.
In a related development, True Incube yesterday announced five finalists for the True Incube Incubation & Scale Up Programme Batch 5: Startup Grand Prix, a programme designed for startups that have
already been incorporated.
The programme offers an opportunity for chosen startups to work closely with True Corporation and its affiliate companies, providing them a springboard to help expand across markets and increase their customer bases.
The three-month incubation programme could provide total investment of up to 4.5 million baht.
The five finalists are: Chang Trixget, DRX, Fling, Kooup and SHOPJJ.
Mr Teerapon said True Incube is bringing the startups finalists to visit China, Vietnam, Singapore and Indonesia.
He said the programme offers the best opportunity for Thai tech startups because they can learn about varying startup ecosystems in each country.
“True Incube aims to create a larger market for Thai startups and the finalists could be great role models for one another, said Mr Teerapon.
Founded in 2013, True Incube is a tech incubator based in Thailand. The firm has partnered with many startups over the past five years with the mission of supporting and strengthening Thailand’s startup ecosystem.
True Incube has invested in six teams from the first batch and are incubating the five current finalists from its fifth batch.
The startup finalists will receive numerous perks, including 2-4 million baht in funding, cloud service support, a visit to Silicon Valley for the winner, co-working space, access to True Digital Park for one year and the right to attend True Incube’s “Boot Camp”.
Apart from True Incube’s vision, six venture capital firms have also pledged to give their full support to the finalists.