Taiwan invests in the global start-up scene and is interested in expanding its cooperation with Israel's innovation ecosystem
Taiwan invests in the global start-up scene and is interested in expanding its cooperation with Israel's innovation ecosystem
Taiwan aims to increase the international exposure of its ecosystem, to serve as a strong base for start-ups, both local and international, as well as to encourage investments, said Mr. Ho Chin-Tsang, Director General of the Small and Medium Enterprise Administration (SMEA) Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) in Taiwan that visiting this week in Israel
Recognized world-wide as the Start-Up Nation, Israel is home to a record number of startups. Many countries are intrigued by the Israeli discipline for innovation, but Taiwan has taken the steps to intertwine itself in the field.
This week, a delegation of senior officials headed by Mr. Ho Chin-Tsang, Director General of the Small and Medium Enterprise Administration (SMEA) Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) in Taiwan, arrived in Israel to strengthen the ties between Taiwan and Israel industries. This delegation aims to promote cooperation between the industries and governments, while getting to know more in depth about how the Israeli ecosystem works in cooperation with the Israeli government.
Over the past two years, the Taiwanese Ministry of Economic Affairs has been broadening the relations and joint activities between the Israeli and Taiwanese ecosystems in order to encourage scaling innovation in Taiwan. The Ministry has already administered a number of innovative programs that accelerate the cooperation between Taiwan and Israel ecosystems.
“Taiwan is known as the Scale-Up Nation, making it an apt partner for Israeli companies that are looking to expand their global influence, grow their networks to include business contacts abroad, and break into sales channels in other countries. Taiwan and Israel have been long standing partners in innovation. The two countries have signed numerous agreements in fields such as health, agriculture, cyber security, and environmental protection to the fields of energy, water technologies, IT, and communications”. said Mr. Ho Chin-Tsang, in an interview with cTech.
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Delegation of Taiwan senior officials in Israel, headed Mr. Ho Chin-Tsang, Director General of the Small and Medium Enterprise Administration Ministry of Economic Affairs
(i2i)
Taiwan invests in the global start-up scene
It is estimated that the government of Taiwan will invest approximately $1 billion into the start-up scene by 2023. These investments will secure its position as an East Asian center in the start-up world. This plan to advance the Taiwanese ecosystem was launched in 2018, and is based on 5 main strategies to ensure well-rounded growth, and strengthen the current economic ecosystem for startups and technological innovation. These 5 strategies are: 1. allocating early-stage funding for startups; 2. providing tax incentives for angel investors, 3. cooperating with venture capital funds; 4. adjusting regulations; 5. advancing the development of talents. The plan combines these strategies with governmental cooperation, by including and encouraging governmental action throughout the process. This part of the plan consists of governmental purchases, initiating government programs to support startups, opening the local capital market to corporations, and advancing exposure in the global marketplace through various specialized services for startups.
Mr. Ho Chin-Tsang, Director General of the Small and Medium Enterprise Administration (SMEA) and Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) in Taiwan explained that "Taiwan aims to increase the international exposure of its ecosystem, to serve as a strong base for start-ups, both local and international, as well as to encourage investments in the high-tech industry within the country and abroad. The expansion of activity provides an opportunity for international and Israeli companies to take part in Taiwan's growth”.
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Mr. Ho Chin-Tsang, Director General of the Organization of Small and Medium Enterprises Administration Ministry of the Economic Affairs.
(Daniel Tseng)
“We are aiming to be the best international startup hub in the indo-pacific region and the best gateway to Asian market. In the last four years we opened two Startup Terrace Innovation Centers, one in Linkou at the north of Taiwan and another one in Kaohsiungat the south. These Centers help to bridge startups and regional industry clusters. In these centers we are offering international as well as local companies from offices, through exhibition area, to living space. The centers promote international activities, and push the Israeli partners to reach their goals in an effective and efficient manner.”
The government in Taiwan offers a soft-landing program for global startups to join Startup Terrace centers including the facilities, consulting and networking as well as dedicated programs.
Introducing IP² Launchpad
Among the programs is an innovation program for accelerating the entry of companies into operation in the Taiwanese ecosystem, IP² Launchpad, which opened in Israel in June 2020 and is currently hosting its third cohort. This year's program includes companies in advanced funding stages, as well as companies dealing with digital transformation in the healthcare, high-tech and renewable energy industries and Cyber Security. Following the success of the program, two further programs for Israeli companies were launched in the last year: 1) the IP² Plus program — a continuation program for Launchpad program graduates and for veteran Israeli companies that would like to penetrate into new markets, and 2) the IP² Sustainability program which runs in cooperation with Startup Nation Central and generates progress in the sustainability area. The three programs operate at the Startup Terrace innovation center, which is supported by the Small and Medium Enterprise Administration of Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs. The program operates at the Linkou Startup Terrace Innovation Center, which is supported by the Small and Medium Enterprises Administration (SMEA), Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) in Taiwan.
The Taiwanese company Innovation To Industry (i2i), the largest software incubator in Taiwan which plays a key role in a supporting the technological ecosystem and connecting stakeholders in the field of innovation within Taiwan, administers the program, with Israeli manager - Rani Shifron, a representative of i2i and the CEO of the Israeli consulting firm Healthier Globe. Through personal and business guidance, as well as providing funding, IP² is focused on the success of the Israeli partners. i2i’s team in Taiwan supports Israeli partners with activities on the ground, both in terms of expertise in the market and local exposure. i2i has also formed an advisory board made up of experts and thought leaders in the industry to provide Israeli teams with the expertise and contacts to help navigate the governmental, business, and investment offices they must access in for operational needs. The board of advisors is chaired by the Former Minister of Economic Affairs and includes senior figures from Taiwan Bio Industry Organization, higher ups of industry giants, and key investors.
IP² Launchpad’s successes
The IP² Launchpad program was officially inaugurated two years ago, and despite the challenges of the global pandemic, has grown tremendously. Two cohorts of the program, featuring almost 50 companies, have been held in Israel, resulting in more than 24 collaboration agreements between Israeli and Taiwanese companies. A third cohort is currently in session, with an acute focus on digital health, renewable energy, and cybersecurity. The cohort has thus far yielded five distribution and clinical trial agreements for the participating Israeli companies, with products ranging from plastic sensors which enable disruptive sensor fusion systems for edge sensing, analytics and insights, to a carbon-capture mineralizing technology that converts carbon dioxide into valuable minerals.
The model of cooperation between the two ecosystems, with Israel providing the concept, design and development, and Taiwan bolstering these products economically, creates incredible opportunities for both growth. Mr. Ho Chin-Tsang credits these successes to the complementary relationship between the Israeli and Taiwanese ecosystem.
Discovering Israel
One of the senior participants in the delegation visiting Israel this week is Mr. James Ho, the Chairman of CDIB Capital Healthcare Ventures. He is responsible for the biotech investment fund, which manages about $300 million, with 40% of that capital directed towards investments abroad. This is his second visit to Israel as he was here 20 years ago, as part of a Taiwanese government investing fund (NDF). Since then, he’s shifted over to the private sector. Throughout his journey to CDIB Capital Healthcare Ventures, he’s kept an eye on the Israeli med-tech scene. Now, his fund is investing in multiple startups abroad, specifically in the sectors of innovative medicine, generic medicine, precision medicine, and medical device and services channels- a field that Israel leads.
James believes that now is the time for Taiwan and Israel to capitalize on the synergy between the two countries’ respective industries. “Over the last 30 years, Taiwan has become a world leader in ICT, and in the last decade has risen to the top of the healthcare and biotech fields. With Taiwan's expertise in the far eastern markets and Israel's burgeoning med-tech developments, the two countries can grow symbiotically. Cooperation between the Taiwanese portfolio companies and Israeli companies can lead to long term cooperation, joint development, and is a win-win for both parties”, he said.
Past partnerships
Chaney Ho, co-founder of Advantech and current Director of the Board, has seen firsthand benefits of such a partnership. Advantech, a company which works to create solutions for the future of the internet of things, has recently opened new offices in Israel due to the region’s advantage of rapidly growing activity. There, Advantech has worked with Israeli customers from a multitude of different sectors and uses these successes to promote collaborations worldwide.
Chaney believes that Israel and Taiwan’s strong relationship is borne out of commonalities. Both countries’ small size and border threats have created a breeding ground for resilience. He has noticed some key differences, like the age and experience of entrepreneurs, and hopes to capture the Israeli youth’s passion for startups and implement it throughout Taiwan. At the governmental level, Chaney wants to use the Israeli government’s support and referral of resources to promote seed startups as a role model for the Taiwanese startup ecosystem. Similarly, Chaney is optimistic about the scope of joint activity between Taiwanese investors and Israeli companies and hopes that these relationships will grow to encourage collaboration between Israeli and Taiwanese startups.
The delegation is staying in Israel for a week, and will be meeting with key leaders in the Israeli startup ecosystem, and with Israel government representatives. In addition, they will have a Taiwan Day with Startup Nation Central to promote collaborations between the industries.
