Premier Mao Chi-kuo today heard reports from the Executive Yuan Office of Science and Technology (OST) and other agencies about the recently established Innovation and Entrepreneurship Policy Board and its plans to create an entrepreneur-friendly environment that helps young people to pursue their career aspirations.
To create such an environment, Mao said, the government's main tasks include nurturing new talent for systems integration, providing strong incentives to put Taiwan's rapid prototyping technologies on the global value chain map, and reinforcing labor, technology and funding links with other countries.
The premier said that the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Policy Board is a major flagship program that will develop three types of industries: creative and innovative businesses, which are important to the premier's policies; small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the lifeline of the economy; and social enterprises, significant to development of Taiwan's society. Among these, SMEs are Taiwan's greatest strength and will receive the largest share of support.
According to the OST, the new board has begun integrating programs and resources from different government agencies. At present, the board is strengthening and expanding existing projects into cyberspace. Its ultimate vision is to transform Taiwan into Asia's Silicon Valley where young entrepreneurs can see their dreams fulfilled.
The OST outlined five strategies for achieving this vision:
- Establishing physical and virtual entrepreneurship networks
- Building a friendly environment for innovation and entrepreneurship
- Developing innovation and entrepreneurship clusters
- Stimulating creative thinking and nurturing young entrepreneurs
- Strengthening links to international resources
The board's first major event was organizing a business innovation forum and workshop at the Taipei Expo Park today, the office pointed out. The event not only brought local and international investors and entrepreneurs together to share experiences, but also featured a workshop that provided practical and hands-on business opportunities to young hopefuls.
In the future, events like this—combining international and domestic resources, introducing venture capital, and allowing young people to try their hand at business—will become routine tasks for the government.
In addition, the government will upgrade the "Start-Up Taiwan!" website into a flagship one-stop window to serve entrepreneurs, establish a Taiwan innovation and entrepreneurship center in Silicon Valley, and create a Taiwan Silicon Valley technology fund. As for the regulatory environment, efforts to coordinate crowdfunding laws will be completed soon, and changes will be made to the Company Act to create a more favorable environment for investing in innovative businesses.
The Taiwan innovation and entrepreneurship center will serve as an outpost in Silicon Valley for developing businesses and talent, said the OST. The government will send select teams, entrepreneurs and venture capital talent from Taiwan to Silicon Valley to start companies and receive field training. The center also will operate an innovative technology monitoring platform to channel technologies, professionals and business orders to Taiwan as well.
Meanwhile, the Taiwan Silicon Valley technology fund will be used to establish a Taiwanese investment network in Silicon Valley. Aside from investments for Taiwanese startups, the funds may also be used as early-stage venture capital for other startups in Silicon Valley, hopefully creating partnerships with local companies there.
The fund will initially aim to raise a capital of US$100 million, with 60 percent coming from the private sector and the remainder from government funds including the National Development Council's National Development Fund and the Ministry of Science and Technology's Science and Technology Development Fund.
Premier Mao said that the new board's plans are well-developed. He requested Vice Premier Chang San-cheng and ministers without portfolio Kuan Chung-ming, Feng Yen, Tsai Yu-ling and Duh Tyzz-jiun to watch over the integration of various agencies' resources and to help the board create an innovation-friendly environment where young entrepreneurs can reach their full potential.