Asean startups invited to join World Economic Forum meeting

The region's most innovative startups have been invited to take part in the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi in September.

The forum's Start-Ups programme aims to draw such companies to the summit so they can build connections with one another as well as with other stakeholders, to pinpoint new opportunities and find ways to employ technology to enable regional expansion.

Eligible companies should be less than 10 years old, have received at least one round of funding, be generating revenue and be tackling problems or delivering services in highly innovative ways.

Experts from regional startup accelerators, venture capital and private equity funds and the tech sector, as well as economists, will be joining the WEF and The Straits Times on a judging panel to decide the final selection of startups.

The ones picked will get a chance to share their stories at an Innovation Hub at the forum and stay connected with a regional community of innovators, entrepreneurs and other stakeholders once the event is over.

Applications can be lodged at wef.ch/aseanstartup2018 by Thursday.

Around 850 people are expected at the summit, including 70 Asean government ministers and 550 business leaders.

Mr Justin Wood, the WEF's head of Asia-Pacific and a member of its executive committee, noted: "The aim is to nurture tomorrow's corporate champions and to upgrade regional innovation ecosystems to deliver positive change to the region."

While Asean represents one of the fastest-growing and dynamic regions of the world, technology is disrupting economic systems, social structures and employment, he said.

And while the labour force is set to expand by 11,000 workers every day for the next 15 years, robots now outcompete low-skilled manufacturing labour. Artificial intelligence also threatens Asean's service jobs.

Entrepreneurship, the creation of new companies and new industries, is the way for the region's growing workforce to find jobs, Mr Wood said.

THE STRAITS TIMES