Photo: iStock
Péter Klemensits
06/03/2023 16:00
It is therefore not surprising that there are many budding start-ups in Thailand. But what is a start-up? A start-up is a young company founded by one or more entrepreneurs to develop and launch a unique product or service.
Thailand has a thriving ecosystem for start-ups, boosted by key factors such as geographic location, access to sea lanes with modernised ports, low inflation rates, and availability of low-cost skilled labour. Most start-ups are located in two cities: the capital Bangkok and Chiang Mai.
By 2018, there were 102 funded Thai start-ups, down from fewer than 5 in 2012. By 2022, there were over 1,000 start-ups in Thailand, including foreigners, which is about one start-up per 70,000 people.
Most start-ups in Thailand today are in fintech, while the second most lucrative start-up sector is food processing and technology, while start-ups in health-tech, industry-tech, travel-tech, ed-tech, ag-tech or business service are also numerous. A significant proportion of these are foreign companies, as the country attracts potential foreign start-up founders from all over the world.
They use their expertise in finding niches, adapting the product to the market, solving problems and working symbiotically with Thai companies and foreign affiliates in Thailand. The most notable success stories are Jubilee Enterprise PCL, Vichaivej International Hospital Group, Lamoon, Priceza, Wongnai, Alto Coffee, At Vantage, etc. Thanks to government support and advances in digitalisation, start-ups continue to thrive today despite the impact of Covid-19.
The author is a senior research fellow at the Eurasia Center of John von Neumann University