Cabinet now helps fledgling businesses



BANGKOK: -- The cabinet yesterday endorsed several stimulant measures to support fledgling businesses or start-ups in the country saying it was committed to this goal by strengthening the national economy at the community level.

The approved measures designed to support new businesses or start-ups and promote greater research-and-development in the country.

Accordingly, other criteria that were also approved were greater emphasis on improved marketing, providing greater access to investment funds and promoting greater awareness in energy savings to push start-up businesses to become the driving force in the Thai economy.

The cabinet hoped that these fledgling businesses can then muster the muscle and skills needed to access investment capital both from within the country and from foreign investors on their own.

First in line among the measures being planned is arranging for academics and specialists in their respective to host around 25 seminars every year in the country.

As of the present, US$ 2 million has been set aside by the Global Environment Facility’s Small Grants Program (GEF) for Start-Ups support and this has been supplemented by a further 4 million baht provided by the Thai government.

On top of this, the cabinet also agreed a move for the state agencies to employ the National Science and Technology Development Agency as special advisors in R&D (Research-and-Development) projects.

This will provide necessary support for Start-Ups to develop innovative and higher value products in the country, the cabinet said.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/cabinet-now-helps-fledgling-businesses


-- Thai PBS 2016-01-13

The government is really showing how seriously they support this initiative by kicking in the huge sum of 2 million baht.

That will get a lot of new som-tam and sticky rice carts on the road.

A good idea, but seminars won't get much result, it needs on the ground action.

The recent actions in Vietnam in terms of being ready for AEC start up is an interesting and positive example.

A year ago two of my MBA students part of an AEC preparation team which has existed for a number of years. (The uni is an offshore entity operating in HCMC and Hanoi with three more locations in Vietnam)

Every day they have been proactively visiting large, medium and small businesses offering deeper explanations of what AEC is all about and highlighting the possible downside and upside / opportunities. No charges. Their services also published widely in newspapers, news services etc.

Both of these students (1 male, 1 female) around 30 / 33 years old, both have the ideal personality and temperament for this work, nice humble approach, good listeners, no arrogance, both very intelligent, good analysis skills and communication skills, etc.

They offer (again no charge) to spend a few days where needed to work with the business to understand more, to develop alternative ideas, to start the ball rolling with further training etc. And there is follow up to see if more help is needed.

Vietnam is really getting it's act together. Several other students, over the last 7 or 8 years I've been visiting there to lecture, have mentioned the drive to get much better quality people into the senior and technical expert positions in many ministries. Just one example, education. And they are making progress to reduce / stop corruption.

Sure...First come the rubber farmers, PM has to follow his ols mate Suthep. WHO's next?

And is it not time to rehab Yingluck now?

The "startups" will be run by those with connections and those that are already successful.

More slop at the pig trough now.