Team up with global partners – a Google Developers, Facebook, 500 Tuk Tuk - and corporate venture capitals Muang Thai Life Insurance and Thai Wah to enhance business with technology
March 2, 2017 – dtac accelerate has raised the standard of startup incubator in Thailand and is named 3rd best incubator in the Southeast Asia region. Batch 5, which is now open for applications, introduces a new track in search of heavyweight startups with global potential. The program teams up with a Google Developers, Facebook, and corporate venture capitals (CVC) Muang Thai Life Insurance and Thai Wah, who aim to adopt innovation and technology from the dtac accelerate family to enhance their business operations and benefit customers and the society, in support of the country’s drive towards Thailand 4.0. dtac accelerate batch 5 provides participating teams with quality training on how to become successful startups and one-on-one mentoring from a team of world-class startup gurus and successful and renowned entrepreneurs in the Thai startup industry.
Mr. Lars Norling, Chief Executive Officer, Total Access Communication PLC or dtac, said, “As a digital service provider, dtac spotted the trend before others. In 2013, we launched dtac accelerate, a startup incubator to empower and bring Thai startups to global stage. Within 4 years, dtac accelerate has become an established and fast-growing company and a key component of dtac’s mission to become the number one digital brand in Thailand, delivering product and service innovations to over 25 million subscribers. Over the past 4 years, we have over 1,000 applications, and 21 startup teams have taken part in the final stage. Those 21 startups generated a combined revenue of over 2 billion Baht in 2016 and created more than 10,000 jobs, while raising over 150 million Baht from FDI. The success of dtac accelerate reflects the primary objective of startups, which is to scale-up and achieve rapid, 3-digit growth from the use of technology to reach and meet customer needs. The goals of dtac accelerate in 2020 are:
- To grow the combined value of startups in the dtac accelerate family to 5 billion Baht, 3 times of current value
- To become the number one incubator program in Southeast Asia, with support on 5 key areas, including funding, mentoring, training from world-class experts, co-working space, and marketing and PR support.
- To offer participating startups an opportunity to reach over 214 million subscribers of Telenor Group in 13 countries around the world.
- To create the first Thai “unicorn” or technology startup valued at 1 billion USD or more.
Mr. Andrew Kvalseth, Chief Digital Officer, Total Access Communication PLC or dtac, said, “dtac accelerate is the number one incubator in Thailand and the 3rd rank in Southeast Asia, behind Singapore and Indonesia respectively. The combined value of 21 startups from the dtac accelerate family is over 700 million Baht, with 500% annual growth rate and 70% follow-on funding from investors. dtac has partnered with the startups and launched various promotional campaigns to dtac subscribers, such as product and service packages from Skootar, Fastwork, and GizTix for SME clients; special privileges for dtac Rewards and Blue Member customers from Fabbrigade, Piggipo, and Skootar; discounts for tourists using dtac Happy Tourist SIM to book day trips with TakeMeTour; and free investment seminars by Finnomena for dtac Blue Members customers.
dtac accelerate is used as a model for Telenor Group in 7 countries, including Malaysia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Hungary, Serbia, and Norway to foster startup spirit among employees by launching “Telenor Ignite Incubator,” a new Intrapreneur program that encourages employees to develop ideas and innovation. Dealstogo, a startup from Thailand, is one of the winning teams at the demo day of Telenor Ignite Incubator.”
Mr. Sompoat Chansomboon, Director of dtac accelerate, said, “This year, many businesses have adopted technology and partnered with startups to develop digital product and service innovations to meet customers’ digital lives. Financial institutes, banks, insurance companies, real estate companies are all looking to partner with startups. dtac accelerate is very proud that our startups have received interest from 2 corporate venture capitals (CVC). Muang Thai Life Insurance has invested in Health at Home, a startup from the dtac accelerate family. Thai Wah, a manufacturer and exporter of tapioca starch, has invested in Freshket. We will receive software and programming support from global partners, including a Google Developers, Facebook, IBM, Microsoft, AWS, and support in various areas from TechSauce, Getlinks, Lean In, Pheromone, Redlab, etc.
dtac accelerate batch 5 will elevate its standard to the next level by adding a new track to its program. Incubation Track is for startups with idea, team, and passion, but yet to develop a business model and product. Acceleration Track is for those with a clear business model and product, but need help to improve their product and scale up for exponential growth. The new Global Expansion Track aims to help established startups to reach regional and global success. The program is open for anything mobile, anything Internet, and anything awesome.
About dtac accelerate batch 5
What startups receive from dtac accelerate
An opportunity to participate in the best and longest-running incubator program in Thailand, which provides world-class training and bootcamp conducted by Silicon Valley experts and one-on-one mentoring by top startup gurus, including:
- Nir Eyal, Author of “Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products,” #1 Best Seller in Industrial Design on amazon.com.
- Ash Maurya, Author of “Scaling Lean” and “Running Lean,” the most widely used books for technology startups, and Creator of “Lean Canvas.”
- Bjorn Lee , Growth Hacking Expert.
- Ruangroj “Krating” Poonpol, Investor from 500 Startups and Founder of Disrupt Technology Venture
- Karun Warapongsittikul, Co-Founder of UX Academy.
- Kulawat Wongsaroj, Managing Director and Agile Coach at Lean in Consulting.
Funding from dtac accelerate
dtac provides commercialization support worth 100 million Baht, doubled from last year.
Awesome Mentors
Learn from startup entrepreneurs who are widely admired in the Thai startup industry, such as:
- Ariya Banomyong, Managing Director, LINE Thailand
- Natavudh “Moo” Pungcharoenpong, CEO & Founder, Ookbee
- Kittinan “Jack” Anuphan, CEO & Founder, Claim Di
- Patai “Boat” Padungtin, CEO & Founder, Builk Asia
- Tiwa York, Kaidee
- Juthasree “June” Kuvinichkul, Ex-Director, GrabTaxi Thailand
- Shannon Kalayanamitr, Founder of MOXY and Regional Chief Marketing Officer of Orami, 2nd largest e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia
- Maneerut Anulomsombut, CEO, Garena Online (Thailand)
- Somwang Luangphaibooonsri, Country Head, PayPal Thailand
World-class Partners
- Disrupt University, an exclusive partner of 500 Startups from Silicon Valley and one of the world’s top 3 startup camps.
- Partnerships with technology companies who will provide software and programming support, including a Google Developers, Facebook, IBM, Microsoft, AWS, and companies in other areas, such as TechSauce, Getlinks, Lean in, Pheromone, Redlab, etc.
- Partnership with BlackBox Connect, one of the world’s top 5 startup bootcamp from Silicon Valley. The winner of dtac accelerate will attend the event to learn from successful startup entrepreneurs and network with investors and funding sources to help them reach global markets.
Dream Awards for Startups
- Attend BlackBox Connect Bootcamp at Silicon Valley
- Attend Google Developers Launchpad at Silicon Valley
- Attend Tech Crunch Disrupt 2017
