Taiwan Pavilion at TechCrunch Disrupt

Technology is moving at warp speed and has effectively transformed our world into a global village. But it isn’t without challenges. Cultural and systematic differences can impede the flow of information and opportunities for progress. One has to look no further than the Western Hemisphere and the Asia-Pacific region. How can global technology ecosystems connect, and innovators have their cutting-edge technology come to life? The only way to aid progress is through shared ideas, inspiration, and knowledge.
The Taiwanese example
Taiwanese companies remain at the forefront of innovation in the Asia-Pacific region. This year some of Taiwan’s most innovative startups and companies have come to TechCrunch Disrupt 2019 to forge connections and exchange ideas with the industry leaders in the United States. TechCrunch Disrupt remains the original tech startup convention, and a noteworthy event in Silicon Valley, the world’s hub of technology and research.
The Taiwan Pavilion showcased the latest and the best from Taiwanese entrepreneurs, innovators, and startup founders. The organizer of the presentation was the Small and Medium Enterprise Administration (SMEA), an administrative agency of the Ministry of Economic Affairs of Taiwan (MOEA).
Small and medium companies – the bedrock of the Taiwanese economy
Mr. Robert Young, the Deputy Director of the Business Startup and Incubation Division, explained the reason behind his agency’s involvement and shared impressive statistics. Taiwan has 1.43 million enterprises. 90% of these companies are small and medium enterprises, and together they provide 80% of jobs in Taiwan. As Mr. Young pointed out, this makes Taiwanese companies agile and flexible. More importantly, it makes Taiwan one of the most innovative places in the world.
A wide array of companies and startups showcased their innovative products and services that use AI, IoT, cloud computing, edge computing architecture, and other technologies for a wide range of high-tech applications including water quality testing, energy monitoring, and anti-body testing. The companies and startups that exhibited at the TechCrunch Disrupt proved to be very popular with both industry leaders and investors and attracted a lot of interest.

The Startup Terrace – SMEA’s startup hub
In a bid to transform Taiwan into one of the leading innovation service providers in the Asia-Pacific region, SMEA and MOEA have undertaken one of the biggest projects to date. The Startup Terrace is a major international startup hub located at the former Universiade athlete’s village in Linkou, New Taipei City. The main focus of the Startup Terrace is to gather startups, founders, accelerators, financial and legal counsels as well as international mentors. The end goal is to create a startup ecosystem and turn Taiwan into a vital partner for innovative services in the Asia-Pacific region.