Thai Government Grants 2023
Our most popular article in 2019 discussed the government grants that were available for startups in Thailand. The article can be found at this link:
Let’s bring it up to date for 2023!
Future of Thailand as a startup hub
The success of startups relies on more than just good ideas. They require a combination of talent, capital, mentors, regulatory clarity, and government support programs to increase their chances of success. Thailand’s startup ecosystem is currently ranked 53rd globally and 11th in the Asia-Pacific region. However, to improve its rankings, Thailand needs to address several challenges, such as a shortage of risk capital, particularly at the seed stage, a lack of impactful government programs to drive innovation, and the absence of unicorn success stories to attract top talent to the field.
The 21st century has seen technology-related startups take over the industry, with North America emerging as the leader with almost 50% of all startups based there. This region enjoys a strong ecosystem with the highest number of angel investors and VC firms supporting the industry. Europe and Asia are home to most of the remaining startups, with the latter thriving due to several fast-growing economies like India and China, which produce a higher number of unicorns than Europe, despite having a lower number of startups overall.
The startup ecosystem in Thailand is relatively young and only 35 startups have successfully exited thus far. The majority of Thai startups are in the early stages of development and are searching for their first group of customers while focusing on product development.
A unique characteristic of Thailand’s startup market is that many of these startups originated as spin-offs from large local corporations or possess SME-like qualities. The three key sectors of focus for Thai startups are fintech, e-commerce, and business solutions. Fintech accounts for the majority of total capital funding since 2020, at 60%.
Thai Government Grants
The Thai government has implemented a range of startup programs through various agencies, including DEPA, NIA, BOI, NSTDA, Revenue Department, and Technology and Innovation-based Enterprise Fund.
Most of these programs provide grants or direct investments to startups in partnership with private entities. The following programs are indicative of the funding opportunities currently offered:
Digital Economy Promotion Agency (DEPA)
Startup to Scale Up
The program provides funding support to Thai entrepreneurs and Thai-based startups in the early stage and the growth stage in the form of grants and direct investments
Grant per startup: USD 1,320–7,930
Investment per startup: USD 18,450–113,600
Duration: 1–3 years
Sector: Based on the investment focus of each round such as government service, healthcare, travel, agriculture, education, service, financial technology, and smart city
Application deadline: 31 July 2023
Website: https://www.depa.or.th/th/startup
Thailand Board of Investment (BOI)
Startup Grant
The program co-pays for Thai-based startups’ human capital expenses in the early stage and the growth stage (established less than 5 years) who have successfully raised USD 132,100 from VC/CVC firms — including technology and management talent — as it aims to support their competitiveness through talent employments
Grant per startup: USD 132,100
Duration: 2 years
Sector: 1. Modern automotive 2. Intelligent electronics 3. Tourism 4. Agriculture and Biotechnology 5. High value-added food processing 6. Robotics 7. Aviation 8. Biofuel and Biochemical 9. Digital 10. Medical
Application deadline: Open
Website: https://www.boi.go.th/index.php?page=eligible_activities
Thailand is still in the process of developing its startup and venture capital ecosystem, despite implementing various programs. To achieve success, Thailand should focus on effective coordination between different government agencies and their respective support programs, implement co-investment or equity matching schemes, allocate significant resources and capital, develop local startup talent through knowledge and capability-building programs, align on long-term success metrics, and build government capabilities through successful program implementation to provide additional value-added support over time.
As we are approaching the Thai general election, the current programs are set to conclude and the new programs are anticipated to be introduced once the results of the election are clear.
Discover further insights on Thailand’s startup scene through the Deloitte report available at https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/sg/Documents/human-capital/sea-hc-venture-capital-ecosystem-thai-feb2023.pdf
