The administration has been spurring innovation and entrepreneurialism in the hope of regenerating private-sector dynamism and engaging large enterprises with startups to promote overall industrial and economic transformation, so as to effect a new innovation-driven economic model, Premier Mao Chi-kuo stated today.
In light of this policy, the private sector should play the leading role with the government in the assisting role to help enterprises communicate and exchange with the startup community so that private-sector forces can more fully come into play, Mao said.
The administration must continuously focus the dynamism of innovation and startups and link them up with other major government policies such as Productivity 4.0, the Internet of Things and industrial policies on virtual infrastructure such as health care services and e-commerce, noted the premier. The National Development Council (NDC) must encourage innovators and startups to advance toward these fields.
The premier made these remarks after he was briefed by the NDC on the current accomplishments and future tasks of the Innovation Entrepreneurship Policy Board, which was established nearly nine months ago.
The NDC stated that it has integrated 13 ministries' and agencies' startup resources for societal innovation and youth startups. It has established the vTaiwan youth startup resource website and converted the premier's former residence on Jinhua Street in Taipei into a youth startup base to provide online to offline services such as startup information and professional consultations. The NDC will continue to promote a registration mechanism for social enterprises and encourage priority procurement of their products by state-run enterprises.
The administration has completed 16 startup-related legislative, regulatory and adjustment measures, such as enacting the Act Governing Electronic Payment Institutions, adding a special chapter on closed corporations to the Company Act, and implementing equity-type crowdfunding and entrepreneur visas.
Regarding financing, to date the angel startup program has approved more than NT$596 million (US$18.4 million) in subsidies for 170 cases. In addition, 500 Startups Taiwan has been approved. So have five venture firms, including AppWorks Fund II, which have raised total investment capital of NT$13.6 billion (US$419.88 million).
To facilitate international linkage, the Taiwan Startup Stadium has been established. The NDC has conducted overseas accelerator training camps, led groups to participate in well-known international startup events, helped forge collaboration with outstanding international accelerators, continued to invite visiting entrepreneurs worldwide to station in Taiwan, and set up the Taiwan Innovation Entrepreneurship Center in Silicon Valley.