Seedstars World, the global-scale startup competition for emerging markets and fast-growing startup scenes, has announced their second edition of Seedstars Asia Summit in Bangkok, Thailand. The summit aims to bridge the gap between ecosystems and connect regional stakeholders to promote and foster entrepreneurship and technology in emerging markets so as to impact people’s lives, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The event will also mark the end of their current tour across 14 ecosystems in Asia in search of the most promising early-stage startups. On the 28th, 29th and 30th of November, Seedstars will bring all their finalists to Bangkok to connect them with more than 300 fellow entrepreneurs, medias, corporates, and investors. All the winners from across the continent are invited to Bangkok for the summit.
This year’s edition is organized in partnership with True Digital Park in Bangkok, Thailand, from November 28th to 30th. The event is invite-only but anybody enthusiastic about technology and entrepreneurship can request a ticket here.
The Seedstars Asia Summit will kick-off with a bootcamp where more than 25 participating startups will receive a mix of theoretical and practical content, with input provided by the Seedstars investment team on growth models and acquisition channels. On the run-up to the Summit, all participant startups will have the chance to choose the most relevant mentors to their needs, to meet on the morning of the 29th and enjoy a bespoke learning experience.
There will be an Investor Forum in the afternoon, with one-on-one meetings between investors and entrepreneurs. Some of the investors confirmed include Sequoia Capital, Jungle Ventures, Digital Ventures, 500 and Golden Gate Ventures. The Summit’s climax will be the Conference on the 30th of November, featuring the startup pitches, keynotes with top-notch entrepreneurs, and think tank style workshops. The topics under discussion include: how corporations can collaborate with startups, the investment landscape in Asia, and Smart Cities.
The Summit will also be a unique opportunity to exchange experiences, network and know more about what foreign startups expect and plans in terms of their future in the region as well as how they are adjusting to their own markets. The Seedstars Expansion Program, organized in partnership with the Office for Economic Affairs and Innovation (SPEI – Switzerland), in collaboration with Innovaud, CVCI and Lausanne Région is supporting early-stage startups based in the canton of Vaud to enable and implement their expansion in fast-growing economies.
Omidyar Network will be bringing five startups from Myanmar, and the National Innovation Agency and Startup Thailand, who have continuously supported Seedstars for both the local and regional events in Bangkok in the last two years will bring two additional startups to take part in the Summit experience and learn more about the regional ecosystem.
“In 2017, we managed to bring together more than 300 attendees, between entrepreneurs, corporates, investors, mentors, government authorities, and startup enthusiasts. We organized around 175 meetings between startups, investors, and mentors, and we felt overwhelmed by the positive feedback we had from all participants. This year, we aim to grow and offer a unique disruptive hands-on experience to even more participants,” says Rosie Keller, Regional Manager for Asia at Seedstars.
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Nichapat Ark, Seedstars Ambassador in Thailand representing the initiative throughout the year, is “very much looking forward to welcoming Seedstars winners from all over Asia, as well as international mentors and investors, to Bangkok. Many partnerships and connections were made at the event last year, and I am certain that it will be even more this year, as we have already had requests to access the event from many new regional stakeholders as well as new sponsorships from leading corporations in the region.”
Seedstars World is a part of the Swiss group Seedstars and runs the global startup competition covering 65+ emerging and developing markets. They aim to impact people’s lives in emerging markets through the promotion and investment in entrepreneurship and technology.
