The Global Entrepreneurship Congress Plus kicked off Sept. 26 at the Taipei International Convention Center, bringing together industry experts and policymakers from home and abroad to discuss methods of using smart technologies to strengthen business growth, innovation and sustainable development.
 
Co-hosted by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Washington-based Global Entrepreneurship Network, the four-day event features forums, meetings and pitch events in areas spanning artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, big data, blockchain, Internet of Things and smart health care systems. More than 100 speakers from 22 countries and territories as well as representatives of 50 local startups are expected to attend the seminar.
 
The official opening of the forum was staged Sept. 27 and attended by dignitaries including Vice President Chen Chien-jen; MOEA Minister Shen Jong-chin; Audrey Tang, Taiwan’s digital minister; American Institute in Taiwan Director Brent Christensen; and GEN President Jonathan Ortmans.
 
Chen said that over the past year Taiwan has made great strides in promoting an economic environment conducive to foreign investment and industrial transformation. This is evidenced by amendments to the Company Act, Financial Technology Development and Innovative Experimentation Act, Pharmaceutical Affairs Act and Statute for Industrial Innovation aimed at giving entrepreneurs more space to thrive, he added.
 
According to the vice president, Taiwan is endowed with an abundance of technological expertise. By encouraging local talent to explore cutting-edge fields and bolstering international exchanges with leading industry players, the nation can play a key role in fostering the global digital economy, he said.
 
Echoing Chen’s remarks, Christensen described Taiwan as an emerging leader in technology entrepreneurship. While countless events are staged around the world on the business and economic opportunities associated with AI and IoT, Taiwan is only place where the conversation revolves around how to use them to advance social development, he said.
 
Taiwan is an important partner of the U.S. as both sides share the goal of a free and open Indo-Pacific where energy, infrastructure and digital economy innovations are used as instruments of social good, Christensen added.
 
The congress is running in conjunction with Taiwan Innotech Expo, one of the largest tech trade shows in Asia. The first edition was held in Daegu, South Korea in 2016, with Cape Town, South Africa, and Bangkok, Thailand, hosting subsequent events last year. (KWS-E)