The Digital Economy Promotion Agency (Depa) plans to invest 20 million baht in a selected Series A startup in its portfolio next year to support its scalability and boost investment confidence among venture capitalists (VCs).
This would be the biggest start up investment made by Depa.
There are six startups at the Series A stage in Depa's portfolio. They comprise Arincare, an e-pharmacy platform; QueQ, a queue management system; Haup, a car-sharing service platform; Drivemate, an online car-rent platform; Globish, an English learning platform; and Schoolbright, a school management platform.
Depa president and chief executive Nuttapon Nimmanphatcharin said the agency has been supporting local startups for years, and it has 110 in its portfolio.
Depa's angel fund offers 1 million baht for startups operating between 1-3 years and 5 million for those operating between 3-5 years.
Mr Nuttapon said the fresh move is expected to create more confidence among VCs because it demonstrates that state-run Depa will jointly invest.
The move is expected to draw the attention of foreign and local startups, and drive new business opportunities amid the economic slowdown.
"Potential startups can be determined by their growth rate, investment support and prospects of business opportunity," Mr Nuttapon said.
Depa is open for talks with any VCs for their interest in investment and support, he said.
"Rearrangement of Depa's budget to support startups was made to boost investment confidence among VCs and ensure the growth of local startups," said Mr Nuttapon.
According to Mr Nuttapon, foreign VCs and local startups can play a direct role in promoting an innovation adoption ecosystem. Their tax payment could also be a boon for the country.
The government allocated a budget of 694 million baht for Depa for fiscal 2022, a decline of 35% from fiscal 2021.
Depa's angel fund, which is intended to support startups, receives 50 million baht in 2022 fiscal year, a decline from 80 million a year before.
Depa's digital transformation project for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) receives 39 million baht, down from 70 million a year earlier.
Its community transformation programme receives 38 million baht, down from 270 million baht a year before.
Depa's decentralised transformation promotion through a smart city project was allocated at 85 million baht, down from 270 million baht a year before.
Depa's angel fund was used to incubate some 90 startups in its 2021 fiscal year and only 30 startups are targeted to be supported in 2022 fiscal year.
According to Mr Nuttapon, Depa is sharpening its focus on promoting provincial startups so their innovative tools can be used to help local SMEs survive and thrive during this difficult time brought by the pandemic.
