The Taipei City Department of Economic Development launched its subsidy and incentive program for the first time this year. In the first phase, 20 small and medium-sized enterprises in Taipei passed the review process and received subsidies. Businesses expressed strong appreciation for the department’s assistance in helping SMEs upgrade their capabilities and strengthen innovation and research development.
Ye Jun-lin, Product Manager of Asia Pacific Online, pointed out that the most tangible benefit of the subsidy program was financial support. This year, the company received an incentive subsidy through its Chinese Internet Font Technology Platform Development Project.
Ye stated that having a research and development proposal approved demonstrates the company’s growth potential, which positively benefits the company’s credit evaluation and banking relationships. For small and medium-sized enterprises, this kind of intangible credit value is especially important.
Ke Jun-jie, project leader at Litang International, believes that the company’s environmentally friendly plastic oral-cleaning products development project has injected new technological and product R&D momentum into the company. It has also provided greater financial flexibility for future research into eco-friendly plastic materials and related product applications. He hopes that the Department of Economic Development will continue expanding and promoting this program in the future, comprehensively strengthening the R&D capabilities of small and medium-sized enterprises in order to face the challenges of intense global competition.
The innovative e-book, advertising, and integrated business operations platform service project proposed by Silicon Web Information received strong support from the review committee. Project leader Wang Feng-tian stated that the R&D and innovation resources provided by the Taipei City Government create major benefits for companies seeking to capture emerging business opportunities.
As a startup company operating in the rapidly evolving e-book industry, Silicon Web Information requires greater innovation and R&D resources from local government support in order to accelerate innovation speed and seize continuously emerging service and market opportunities. The Department of Economic Development’s encouragement of local SMEs in R&D and innovation has allowed business owners to increasingly feel the government’s support and concern for small businesses.
Teddy Forest is a pioneer in the handmade teddy bear market. To allow customers to place orders conveniently online, the company needed a customized customer service process. Teddy Forest applied for the investment incentive subsidy program with its “Original Teddy Bear Custom Design and Cross-Industry Integrated Marketing Platform” project.
Project leader Lin Yao-ren stated that utilizing government resources can rapidly enhance the handicraft industry, expand benefits across the sector, and achieve goals of industry-wide sharing and collective growth. After receiving the subsidy, the company successfully integrated downstream distribution channels and plans to complete a fully integrated one-stop operational system in the future.
Elias Ek, General Manager of Enspyre, stated that the company’s “SME Super Entrepreneur Cloud Office Innovative Service Technology Development Project” required significant capital investment. Because Enspyre is a foreign-owned company, obtaining bank financing is more difficult. Therefore, government support plays an extremely important role during the critical early stages of innovative business development.
Elias Ek emphasized that Taiwan’s government policies are very progressive because foreign companies operating in Taiwan are not excluded from subsidy incentives and reward measures designed to encourage SMEs to strengthen innovation and product R&D. He added that the Taipei City Government’s subsidy program encourages foreign investment in Taiwan and demonstrates Taiwan’s ambitious vision of becoming a major international economic power.
Luo De-liang, project leader at Hengke, pointed out that the Taipei City Government’s R&D subsidies help small companies share operational costs, reduce expenses related to innovative product development, and encourage businesses to invest in new technologies and products, thereby expanding product lines and revenue opportunities.
Hengke’s project this time involved the development of an electric cleaning brush capable of spraying detergent. Luo believes that the city government’s innovation incentives inject momentum into SME R&D activities, not only improving competitiveness, but also increasing company revenue, creating jobs, and generating a positive economic cycle.
(Advertorial by the Taipei City Industrial Incentive and Subsidy Project Office)
Source:
Press Release — Taipei City Government Department of Economic Development: “Taipei Industrial Incentive and Subsidy Program — Helping Businesses Strengthen the Economy”
News Coverage — Commercial Times Electronic News: “Taipei SMEs Grow with the Department of Economic Development as Their Support”
