If we see with a global startup perspective then we come to know to the fact that Taiwan startups can set out to establish that they are more than just a gateway to China.
With an active economy that is in advance to get interested from businesses in the recent years, Taiwan made its way. The reason is clear, it is the 7th biggest economy in Asia, and when we talk about global competitiveness it ranks as 15th in the world.
Taiwan is the leading international supplier of the mass computing-related hardware worldwide.
And now with the creation of a new technological hub dubbed an Asian Silicon Valley by means of government help, Taiwan is well on its way to fitting one of the most potential innovation and startup hubs in Asia.
IoT is the emerging trend in the country and reason could be the construction of the Asian Silicon Valley. Taiwan has been widely famous for its hardware products, but according to recent research country indulged into e-commerce industry and more recently into Artificial Intelligence, robotics, and now with focused support from the government they step into IoT (Internet of Things).
The supported startup ecosystem of Taiwan
Taiwan government also plays a vast role to boost the innovation level in the country. As we have seen in Singapore, startups have to get back to government-supported innovation and entrepreneurship schemes, funding resources and proper mentorship.
And while there are many aspects of business management that incubator/accelerator programmes addresses, Kevin specifically mentions finance, as he thinks that finance skills are something that is universally lacking from startups not just in Taiwan, but globally.
Kevin Yu, the founder of Taiwan Accelerator that was the country’s first seed accelerator talk about the startup ecosystem and what a startup lacks really. He said,
”The startups know what to do with their products and how to build their ideas. But in terms of finance, they are like a little baby…they need to have a solid financial model, know how to do a financial forecast, and most importantly, know how to deal with investors and communicate with them in their language.”
And that’s the reason that Taiwan Accelerator provides financial mentors (generally CFOs and Investor Relations Officers of public companies) to their startup to teach and explain them on financial matters.
This is what Pakistani startups lack as they really need financial mentors who prepare them for both the instant possibility of engaging with investors and the further long-term benefit of making sound financial decisions for their potential business in the future.
