Ministries team up on startup ecosystem in Chiang Mai
THE Science and Technology Ministry is joining with the Industry Ministry to set up Chiang Mai & Co as a vehicle to foster a startup ecosystem in the northern province.
Pun-arj Chiaratana, director of the National Innovation Agency (NIA), said the collaboration between the two ministries would result in the startup hub being established on 2 rai in the Tha Phae district in Chiang Mai province.
The hub will serve as a landing path and one-stop service centre for a startup ecosystem hub in the Northern region. It also aims to extend these services to neighbouring countries such as Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.
Chiang Mai & Co, as a startup landing path, will offer smart visas, which is a new type of visa designed to help attract skilled workers and investors who want to come to Thailand to develop the new S-curve businesses, such as startups, electronics, robotics sand healthcare.
The smart visa will allow foreigners to stay for four years. Chiang Mai & Co will provide training, a centre to facilitate connections between startups and matching funds, as well as a network centre as part of a startup ecosystem and that benefits from a cluster of business partners in the North.
Chiang Mai & Co will be officially launched by the end of this year.
“The NIA will serve as a facilitator to set up this new startup hub. I think that Chiang Mai province is one of the most popular cities for startups from abroad as well as those based locally. Chiang Mai is also a beautiful city. I also believe that Chiang Mai & Co will able to attract digi?tal nomads to the city and build up the growth potential of startups in the region,” said Pun-arj.
The NIA also said yesterday that it would provide Bt1.5 million in angel funding to each project selected in a scheme to promote a startup ecosystem in vocational colleges and universities across the country.
Pun-arj said that for the angel funding plan of Bt1.5 million per project, students studying in around 800 vocational colleges and universities nationwide would be able to develop their startup projects in the information technol?ogy field. The agency expects that by the end of this year, it would set aside a budget of around Bt150 million to support this scheme.
