Taiwan has in recent years gained global recognition for its innovative potential and entrepreneurial environment. It was ranked among the world’s top four innovative nations by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2018 and 2019 and rated third in the Global Entrepreneurship Watch (GEM) National Entrepreneurial Environment Index (NECI).
To continue strengthening Taiwan startups’ international reputation, the National Development Council (NDC) launched a four-year program named The Asia Silicon Valley Development Plan 2.0. The new plan builds on the preceding Asia Silicon Valley Plan utilizing public and private resources to promote enterprises and innovation, create new partnerships, and position Taiwan as a major force for digital innovation in Asia.
Launching Taiwanese startups internationally and strengthening the overall image of the startup scene is crucial to the continued success of Taiwanese entrepreneurship. To this end, NDC, in the spirit of public-private partnership, joined forces with the community to create the national startup brand Startup Island TAIWAN.
Startup Island TAIWAN’s logo depicts abstract mountains reflected in the ocean – a symbol of the island – combined into an image denoting infinity and DNA, signifying the infinite possibilities of Taiwanese innovation capacity that runs in Taiwanese people’s veins.
The startup community together with key opinion leaders under the Startup Island TAIWAN brand named nine rising stars as NEXT BIG companies taking Taiwan’s startup scene to the next level: CoolBitX, Gogoro, Greenvines, iKala, KDAN MOBILE, KKday, Pinkoi, 17LIVE, and 91APP. These startups have become bellwethers expected to lead more Taiwanese startups to the global stage and demonstrate the strength of Taiwanese entrepreneurship.
Taiwan is also strengthening its ties with startup ecosystems in various countries and continues to align itself with international standards. For example, the “Japan-Taiwan Startup Summit,” which focused on digital transformation, was held in Tokyo in July this year. The summit, which was the largest-yet Taiwan-Japan startup exchange event, was a new milestone for the relationship between Taiwanese and Japanese startups. It attracted more than 500 people, as well as 33 Taiwanese startups and Japanese businesses, venture capital firms, banks, startups, and more than 20 media outlets.
By establishing regular communication between partners, Taiwan will deepen the exchanges between Taiwanese startups, Japanese companies, and strategic investors, jointly promote digital transformation, and enter the international market.
In addition to deepening its relationship with Japan, Taiwan also turned to the U.S., where it jointly established a model for exchanges through the first North American Taiwan Technology Annual Conference, held in Silicon Valley in September. Representatives from industry, government, and academia had lively interactions at the conference, which covered topics on five advanced technologies: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data science, semiconductor hardware, biotechnology, startup investment, and Web3.
The conference attracted more than 1,000 in-person participants and drew tens of thousands of online interactions. By deepening investment and interactions with the U.S., Taiwan can further develop its new industries and global connections.
To facilitate a deeper understanding of Taiwan among international investors, enterprises, and startups, the government not only built the Startup Island TAIWAN website but is also using multimedia to expand its global marketing capabilities and actively promote Taiwan startups to the world. This was done through the launch of the Startup Island TAIWAN podcast, which covers topics related to Taiwan’s innovation capacity and the connection of global industries. The podcast provides an opportunity to show the world Taiwan’s innovative and vigorous developments.
An advertisement of the National Development Council.
