FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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PetInsure takes top award in Young Technopreneur contest

PetInsure takes top award in Young Technopreneur contest

PETINSURE has won the Young Technopreneur 2017 contest sponsored by Samart Group and the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA).

Smart Boat O2 Improvement and Chap-Raii were named the first runner up and the second runner up, respectively. 
Charoenrath Vilailuck, chief executive of Samart Corp, said that the contest aimed to strengthen Thailand’s technology industries, enhance business knowledge and future development. It drew more than 130 projects vying for the top three places.
The contest focused on product and services development that meets the demands of the market and, in turn, drives the economy through innovation, technology and creativity. 
Samart and its partners also provide consultation and training for startups until the point they are confident enough in their products and services to enter the market. 
Ploypitcha Boontavipitak, co-founder of the PetInsure project, said it is the first pet insurance brokerage services platform in Thailand. Pet insurance makes caring for a sick or an injured pet much more affordable, the company says.
The insurance package offers coverage for all veterinary bills, including vaccine, illness, accident, death. Pets can receive lifetime coverage for as long as the policy is renewed.
PetInsure also serves as a consultant for pet owners to give them the knowledge they need about their pets and insurance. 
“The project has our own veterinarian team to support customers and this team can go out to a customer’s house to provide a physical check-up for a pet as well as vaccinations,” Ploypitcha said.
“The project now provides its services via the Web application platform that provide many features to support users and be a one-stop services centre for pet owners.
“Users can fill out an online insurance application form and also check the insurance status and historical claim data. We have geo-location nearby functions for vet hospitals and clinics in Thailand to enable customers to easily search for places near them. It also has an artificial intelligence-driven “chatbot” service to support and respond to customer within 24 hours.”
Ploypitcha said Thailand has more than nine million cats and dogs.
“The market size of the pet industry is Bt2 billion per year. Thai pet ‘parents’ spend Bt7 billion per year for pet care cost,” she said.
“This indicate that they need to be responsible for high vest costs. On top of that, do you know that the cost for treating your pet is twice that of treating you.
“In some cases, owners need to spend up to Bt100,000 for pet treatment. So, they have a financial problem or not enough money to support their pets, it will also lead to the loss of a loved one.
“In addition, this product is very new in Thailand and most Thais are aren’t aware it and so have no knowledge about its benefits. PetInsure has solutions for these problems.”
She said the project has executive corporate venture partnerships with Dhipaya Insurance and Muang Thai Life Insurance to provide pet insurance in Bangkok and in major provinces such as Phuket and Chiang Mai. 
It has about 300 policyholders, with 80 per cent for dogs and the rest for cats.
 The pet insurance package starts at Bt2,800 to Bt7,200. The team plans to provide a low-price pet insurance package at Bt500 in order to expand the customer base. It also aims to provide pet insurance to cover other kinds of animals, such as horses, elephants and cows.
For the first runner up, Smart Boat O2 Improvement’s project can produce tiny bubbles with high velocity to increase water circulation. In addition, these bubbles exist under water and on the surface. Users can ensure that the bubbles spread across a retention pond. 
The company says the product has high performance and offers energy savings of more than 10 times that of general aeration systems.
Chao-Raii was recognised for its smart farm for hydroponic plants. The farm system can help to improve productivity and is easy to implement, the company said.
Sansanee Huabsomboon, director of the Technology Business Incubation Centre at NSTDA, said the awards will help entrepreneurs understand business models and business plans so that they can run their businesses efficiently. “This will create opportunities for technopreneurs to distribute their products and offer services to support market demand,” Sansanee said.
 

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