Taipei City Government

Mayor Ko Wen-je attended the “2017 Global Startups Talents @ Taipei” forum to exchanged opinions with 17 new companies accepted into the program. The project was launched by the Department of Economic Development (DEP).

According to Ko, the program aims to connect Taipei with international corporations to unlock entrepreneurial potentials as the City boasts accelerators, investors, and incubators in the field while providing a business-friendly environment.

A total of 99 entrepreneurial teams from South Korea, Israel, France, the US, Hong Kong, Lithuania, Canada, Poland, Luxembourg, and other countries applied for the program. Among them, 20 applicants were selected from a pool of industries spanning IT, IoT, biotech, and other areas.

During their 15-day sojourn in Taipei, representatives of these companies will be engaging with local startups through a range of commerce conferences, investor networking events, and tech forums.

Regarding inquiries on the availability of medical facilities to carry out clinical experiments, the mayor promised that the city government will serve as a networking platform for related resources. He believes that Taipei’s medical service quality and data credibility can rival those of Japan’s.

Local entrepreneurial groups also requested the city government to address the issue of talent shortage, pointing out that Taipei’s incentives to nurture entrepreneurship tend to focus more on aspects such as provision of subsidies, career opportunities, or commercial partnership.