Enterprise incubator spreads its wings

Software Park Thailand has announced its "Incubation 2.0" strategy, aimed at extending the successful helping hand of its incubation centre, which over the past seven years has nurtured the operations of more than 200 local software houses.

Under the concept of Incubation 2.0, the park will use a networking strategy to extend its incubation facilities into three new dimensions: partnerships, targeting new groups of start-up enterprises for incubation and market expansion.

Director Suwipa Wanasathop said the park wanted to double the capacity of its incubation service beyond the current 35 companies per year being nurtured by the park itself. Under the plan, the park will join the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion (OSMEP), the Department of Industrial Promotion (DIP) and the University Business Incubators (UBI) to develop and offer incubation services to software houses across the country through the networks of incubation centres being run by the partners.

"Even though the park has incubated more than 200 local software companies over the past seven years, and these companies have together created 225 intellectual properties for Thailand, this is not enough. We need to go fast forward, with more numbers," Suwipa said.

Through collaboration with its partners, Software Park Thailand will expand its target group by offering incubation services not only to software houses but also to other local small- and medium-sized enterprise businesses.

"Non-software businesses that want to adopt software technology not only to improve and enhance their business competitiveness but also to become a key weapon in running their business, will be the target group for Incubation 2.0," Suwipa said.

She gave as examples DoctorCosmetics.com and MathBright.com as the first two non-software businesses that had succeeded in using software to optimise their business operations. 

In terms of expanding the dimensions of its market, Software Park Thailand will match software houses with the SME clusters of its partners OSMEP, DIP, and UBI and initiate co-projects across industries.

"This move is not only to help local software houses get more market opportunities, but also to help local SMEs to obtain affordable software suites to increase their business performance. We have already matched the jewellery cluster with local software companies and we plan to extend this concept into other industrial sectors," Suwipa said.

Apart from its incubation centre, the other operational frameworks of the park include workplaces and facilities, business and technical training, coaching, mentoring and consultation, business matching, helping with access to capital and finance, trade exhibitions and marketing and business networking and alliances.