PTT and RISE join hands to launch Thai digital hub

Chansin Treenuchagron, chief technology and engineering officer at PTT Group, said the corporation would focus on support and faciliฌtate startups in five countries – Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand – to particiฌpate in the DNEXT programme. 
It aims to accelerate startup programmes to provide boot camps and increase their capabiliฌties to become digital leaders in Asean. The programme also aims to facilitate a regional digital hub in the country in the near future. 
“The PTT Group aims to impleฌment digital technology in the comฌpany’s operations in order to faciliฌtate the company’s growth and cope with changes in the digital world. Innovation will be used to elevate the business organisation in accordance with the PTT Group’s aim to create stability and sustainฌability,” said the CTO.
He added that the programme would create opportunities for Asean startups that had the potential to become a part of the PTT Group’s digital transformation programme.
Arawadee Photisara, managing director of PTT Digital Solutions, said the DNEXT programme was a gateway for the new generation who are equipped with fresh ideas and different perspectives to create innovation, new markets and busiฌness expansion for the PTT Group. 
It will also support the Thailand 4.0 vision. The programme will focus on supporting and promoting startups in five Asean countries, as well as promoting road shows, which will begin next month. 
The programme aims to nurture 15 startups from those countries. The corporation will provide them with training and provide boot camps with experienced mentors for three months. The aim is to proฌduce startups with worldclass potential that can create innovaฌtion. This would enable them to expand their business with PTT.
Supachai Parchariyanon, the founder of RISE, a regional corpoฌrate innovation accelerator, said the programme would focus on the theme of innovationrelated energy, future and innovation business such as blockchain, smart artificial intelliฌgence, chat bot and data analytics. The 15 selected startup teams, who participate in the programme, will be worth around US$100,000 per startup team. 
The corporation will be regional accelerators to drive startups in the countries to develop new innovaฌtion, business, increased productiviฌty of their business as well as create opportunity to join hands with PTT. It will develop a regional digital hub that can generate revenue of around 1 per cent of GDP for the country in the near future. 
Those startups who want to parฌticipate in the programme can register from now until March 18 at www.facebook.com/RISEAccelerator.