The Industry Ministry is mulling a new venture capital fund to support startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), says a senior Industry Ministry official.
Pasu Loharjun, director-general of the Industry Promotion Department, said yesterday at a meeting with senior officials chaired by the Industry Minister that the venture capital fund would help startups and SMEs gain access to funding.
He said the venture capital fund will help the Industry Ministry achieve its target of creating 4,000 new startups next year.
The Industry Ministry will oversee the setting up the venture capital fund to which 11 institutes will contribute seeding fund of 10 million baht, Mr Pasu said.
The ministry will allocate a budget of 50 million baht, bringing the total amount of the venture capital fund to 60 million baht.
The government has implemented several measures to help startups and SMEs in a bid to make them a key engine to drive the domestic economy. The measures include a soft loan scheme and marketing assistance as well as tax incentives.
Mr Pasu said the venture capital fund will help startups pass through the "toddler" stage as well as assist SMEs that have potential but lack the funds to expand.
Mr Pasu, who is also chairman of the Electrical and Electronics Institute, said that despite the many measures targeted at startups and SMEs, the largest group among business operators still needs government support to stay alive during the fragile economic recovery.
"If the Industry Ministry agrees with us, we can proceed with the seeding fund," Mr Pasu said.
Eleven independent organisations supervised by the Industry Ministry have been tasked with developing key industries.
They are the Electrical and Electronics Institute, the Thailand Textile Institute, the Thai-German Institute, the National Food Institute, the Thailand Productivity Institute, the Management System Certification Institute (Thailand), the Thailand Automotive Institute, the Institute for Small and Medium Enterprise Development, the Iron and Steel Institute of Thailand, the Plastics Institute of Thailand and the Construction Institute of Thailand.
The government is aiming for SMEs to account for 50% of GDP or 8 trillion baht in 2020, up from the current 42% or 5.6 trillion baht.
"The Industry Ministry will soon chair a meeting to discuss plans for the new venture capital fund for startups and SMEs," Mr Somchai said.
Industry Minister Atchaka Sibunruang said the government will speed up measures for SMEs and startups to gain access to financial sources to enable them to set up or expand business.
The ministry is focusing on three industries: agricultural technology and food technology (food processing, health food and organic food), health and wellness (medical equipment and products for the elderly) and service technology (tourism, and design and culture).
She said the initial focus will be on the North as Chiang Mai has many startups and SMEs with a high potential.