From DIProm Angel Fund to Startup Connect

           When considering the necessary business operations of new entrepreneurs or startups, in addition to the limitations of opportunities to access funding sources, networking for knowledge and innovation transfer or connecting with each other is considered an important part in supporting business growth of startups.

           The Department of Industrial Promotion (DIProm) has established the DIProm Angel Fund project in cooperation with the private sector to support access to funding for early-stage startups and provide entrepreneurs with better business skills.

           Once entrepreneurs have gone through the incubation process and have mastered their skills, they will enter the growth stage. The entrepreneurs in this stage can participate in the Startup Connect project, a startup extension project to develop business skills and connect networks of all industrial entrepreneurs in order to create a business model for further expansion and provide access to quality funding sources and marketing for entrepreneurs in the growth stage.

           The Startup Connect project focuses on expanding four quality networks, consisting of startup network, funding network, market network, and international academic network, in order to strengthen the ecosystem facilitating business growth.

           Regarding the strategies for promoting the development of startup entrepreneurs, the business connection mechanism is used to promote funding and marketing for startups, which consists of the four following approaches:

-  Expansion of the startup network by identifying potential entrepreneurs and preparing them for their presentation of business models to investors;

- Expansion of capital network by creating a network with private companies interested in co-investing with startup entrepreneurs that have been incubated to build confidence in business cooperation;

-  Expansion of the market network by encouraging agencies under the Ministry of Industry or Industrial Business Networks to implement the startup’s solutions and innovation;

-  Expansion of international networks to expand to the international market with a higher market value.

           The Startup Connect project, which has been in operation since 2020, can reduce technology imports and help give startups access to the market and create high economic value.