The Digital Economy Promotion Agency (depa), Thailand, teamed up with Techsauce Media to launch the depa Smart City Accelerator Program BATCH 2 to search for digital startups to work collaboratively with key smart city leaders to acknowledge problems and discuss regulatory framework, factors and demand before developing solutions that can better deal with problems of a particular city slated for smart city development. The smart city accelerator program aims to create liveable and smart cities to improve the quality of life for Thai people. It also aims for all participating digital startup firms to get new knowledge, hands-on experience, and opportunities to further drive their business operations.

Asst. Prof. Dr. Nuttapon Nimmanphatcharin, President/CEO of Digital Economy Promotion Agency said H.E. Mr. Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn, Minister of Digital Economy and Society (MDES), Thailand, as chair of the National Smart City Steering Sub-committee, instructed depa to accelerate the progress on smart city development, depa in collaboration with the Digital Startup Institute and Techsauce Media, the leader in tech knowledge sharing platform and digital startup community in Southeast Asia, kicked off the depa Smart City Accelerator Program BATCH 2 after achieving an amazing accomplishment in launching the inaugural depa Smart City Accelerator Program last year.

"depa Smart City Accelerator Program is the first of its kind in ASEAN that serves as a bridge to connect digital startups with demand for urban development. For this year's smart city accelerator program, 25 digital startups that have been selected by the judge panel will have to attend an orientation workshop prior to taking action and working with representatives of cities that are slated for smart city development. They will acknowledge the on-site problems, factors, and inputs before coming up with solutions to those challenges using digital technologies and innovations to develop a smart city through the Proof of Concept (POC). The digital technologies and innovations will be leveraged to solve the right problems in five urban areas that received smart city promotion certificates and Thailand Smart City logo. Five projected smart cities are Samyan Neighborhood - Bangkok, Wangchan Valley - Rayong, Mae Mo District - Lampang, Khon Kaen and Phuket.They will be leveled up to be livable and safe cities with efficient waste and environmental management and modern infrastructure that can improve the quality of life of all residents in each smart city in the new-normal lifestyle after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic in order to move forward to becoming fully fledged smart cities.", president/CEO of depa said.

Ms. Oranuch Lerdsuwankij, CEO and Co-Founder of Techsauce Media said the depa Smart City Accelerator Program BATCH 2 will provide participating Thai digital startups with valuable knowledge and good experience through taking action in the real-world experiment and development by working collaboratively with experts and relevant agencies to develop smart cities. The smart city accelerator program will present them with opportunities to expand their businesses to tap customers in the public and private sectors. It is a bridge linking investors and business partners as it helps improve the image and reputation of Thailand's digital industry in the region. Techsauce Media highly hopes that this landmark collaboration will play a vital role in driving smart urban development and efficiently improving the quality of life of the public. Techsauce Media would like to thank depa for all support and partners in the public and private sectors for cooperation to move forward the depa Smart City Accelerator Program to attain the central goals and objectives as planned.

The digital-driven solutions and work of digital startups that will be used in smart city development under the depa Smart City Accelerator Program will be exhibited on the depa Accelerator Demo Day online showcase program. Any solutions that receive a proven success, the winning digital startups will get a cash prize of 300,000 baht each for use to further develop their businesses, including the chance to grow globally. 

The applications for the depa Smart City Accelerator Program BATCH 2 run until August 1, 2021. Stay in touch with the latest updates on the depa Smart City Accelerator Program BATCH 2