2015 Digital Entertainment Fundraising Key Business Opportunities Forum and Capital Matchmaking Event

To nurture more high-quality startup incubation companies, learn from international success stories, and accelerate exchanges between startups and venture capital firms, the Small and Medium Enterprise Administration of the Ministry of Economic Affairs held the "2015 Digital Entertainment Fundraising Key Business Opportunities Forum and Capital Matchmaking Event" on September 16 at the NTUH International Convention Center. The event invited Yang Jihua, Vice President of Shimao Group and General Manager of Theme Parks; Kelly Poon, Director for Asia-Pacific at Atomico; and Haruhiro Uchida, Head of the Video Production Department at Marza Animation Planet, to deliver keynote speeches and hold discussions on digital entertainment business opportunities, providing important reference for startups on how to effectively connect with domestic and international digital entertainment supply chains, service chains, or cross-border cooperation. The event attracted more than 200 participants including industry leaders, startup teams, angel investors, and accelerator representatives from home and abroad. High-quality startup teams were also arranged to give demos to increase their chances of linking with international markets, showcasing the vitality of our country's young entrepreneurs.

Digital entertainment opportunities showcased to help startup teams obtain resources

Deputy Director-General Lin Meixue of the Small and Medium Enterprise Administration also stated in her remarks that according to an analysis report by the internationally renowned accounting firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PWC) on the Global Entertainment and Media Market (E&M), the focus of global entertainment and media market development over the next five years will still revolve around digital entertainment and services. Consumer demand for digital services, especially the development of broadband internet, mobile internet, and smart devices, will be an even more important factor driving overall industry growth. The global entertainment and media market is expected to reach 2.21 trillion US dollars by 2017 (approximately 65 trillion New Taiwan dollars). It is believed that digital entertainment will be an opportunity to lead the entrepreneurial development of Taiwan teams.

To help Taiwan startups expand their business reach, the Small and Medium Enterprise Administration's "104th Year Emerging Industry Acceleration Incubation Program" successfully facilitated a joint venture and co-production among "Japanese company Bill Duck," "Taiwan Qitai Animation," and "Zhibao International Development" by bringing in mid-to-large enterprise mentors and connecting domestic and international early-stage investment funds and other resources. Deputy Director-General Lin Meixue of the Small and Medium Enterprise Administration was specially invited to attend and witness the signing of this "key business opportunity" cross-border cooperation MOU, hoping to consolidate more entrepreneurial energy in Taiwan in the future and jointly help startups shine internationally.

However, for emerging industries in digital entertainment, the key to startup development does not rely solely on innovative products and services; funding is also a crucial factor in whether startups can grow rapidly. The Small and Medium Enterprise Administration continues to refine the program and integrate relevant resources to help enterprises cultivate a more refined entrepreneurial vision, and through more cross-resource, cross-industry, and cross-country diversified entrepreneurial cooperation as well as opportunities for mid-to-large enterprise and international linkages, enable high-quality source enterprises to conduct matchmaking and utilization in a structural manner.

Facilitating interaction with venture capital and linking to international markets

On the day of the 2015 Digital Entertainment Fundraising Key Business Opportunities Forum and Capital Matchmaking Event, in addition to wonderful discussions on the digital entertainment industry, high-quality startup teams were selected in the afternoon to give demos to enhance their international competitiveness and visibility. Startup teams, venture capital firms, angel investors, and well-known enterprises were invited for actual interaction, including dozens of units such as Chinatrust Venture Capital, Mega Management Consulting Corporation, Silver Wing Capital, Hotung Venture Capital, Taiwan Angel Club, and MESH Venture, conducting one-on-one capital matchmaking exchanges. Participating matchmaking teams unanimously said that being able to have such close contact with relevant venture capital firms within a single event was a rare opportunity.

In addition to helping teams actually connect with capital resources, the 2015 Digital Entertainment Fundraising Key Business Opportunities Forum and Capital Matchmaking Event will provide the teams selected as outstanding in this demo with opportunities to interact with local UK venture capital angels and the UK government (UKTI). The Small and Medium Enterprise Administration has further added intensive English skills training, steadily showcasing team energy on domestic and international stages and increasing opportunities to link with international markets.

Building on fruitful results, hoping to develop the next Taiwan startup unicorn

As the Small and Medium Enterprise Administration continues to deepen the promotion of the "Emerging Industry Acceleration Incubation Program," it has already built cross-border platforms in the past. In addition to actively introducing foreign accelerator resources, it has also signed joint cultivation cooperation letters of intent internationally with countries such as the European Union, the United States, and Japan, progressively helping our country quickly enter international markets and industry supply chains. This includes helping more than 200 enterprises cumulatively enter international markets, promoting investment and capital increase amounting to NT$3.2 billion, and helping enterprises obtain domestic and international orders worth NT$2.3 billion. In the future, it will continue to provide guidance through aspects such as "targeted incubation," "capital matchmaking," and "international linkages," hoping that the substantive cooperation from this event will make good use of resources to deploy globally.