The Executive Yuan's Innovation and Startups Task Force has developed new business models and carried out groundbreaking, innovative measures in such aspects as laws and regulations, funding, talent and international linkage, Premier Mao Chi-kuo remarked at today's Cabinet meeting.
The commendable achievements of this task force, which was set up over a year ago, have been facilitated under the leadership of Vice Premier Chang San-cheng and oversight by five ministers without portfolio along with the collaborative efforts of relevant ministries, Mao affirmed.
The premier made these remarks after a National Development Council (NDC) briefing on promoting innovation and startups to effect Taiwan's industrial transformation.
In light of the impact from global industrial supply-chain rearrangement, currently the administration's most important policy is to promote more business creativity via innovation and startups and further guide industries' structural transformation and upgrade.
"Building a sound innovation and startup ecosystem is a top priority at present," the premier reiterated. Aside from government policies, it is of utmost importance to bring in international and entrepreneurial resources while incorporating private-sector strengths. The premier enjoined relevant ministries to continue to assist new startups and young enterprises to enhance their international linkage capabilities, and encourage big enterprises to engage in developing forward-looking and innovative businesses. Meanwhile the ministries must also popularize innovation trends in other less urban areas and incorporate local governments' resources to help innovation-and-startup policies bear fruit as quickly as possible.
According to the NDC, since its establishment the Innovation and Startups Task Force has garnered concrete results in the following areas:
● Funding: Providing more than NT$10 billion (US$303 million) to invest in Taiwanese businesses
via the Headstart Taiwan Project and the Taiwan Silicon Valley Tech Fund for ushering in
"smart money."
● Laws and regulations: Enacting a special chapter on closed corporations in the Company Act in
response to the digital economy era, modernizing legal concepts by allowing the private sector
to operate equity-based crowdfunding platforms, and promoting legislation of the Limited
Partnership Act and other startup-friendly laws and regulations.
● Talent: Proactively hunting for talents, cultivating startup talents on campuses, and enhancing
incentives to attract professionals to stay in Taiwan.
● International linkage: Creating a world-class innovation and startup park—the Taiwan Startup
Stadium—and establishing the Taiwan Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center in Silicon Valley.
● Startup services: Playing the role of "igniter" by turning the former official residence of the
premier into the Executive Yuan youth startup base and a social enterprise hub, setting up the
Taiwan Air Force Innovation Base, and establishing the Small and Medium Enterprise
Administration's startup resource website.