Digital Ventures Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) Group, has officially revealed its vision dedicated to help drive change in the banking industry through investment and innovation, as well as supporting the growth of Thai businesses with SCB. Ordered into three main divisions, it has already commenced investing in world-class startup companies, announced the ‘DV accelerator’, and established a bank simulation platform for experimentation of new ideas.  

Thana Thienachariya, Chairman of the Executive Committee, Digital Ventures Co. Ltd., says that Digital Ventures is the result of the vision of the board of directors at SCB, who realized the rapid changes that would result from the arrival of financial technology, affecting the bank’s growth. Adaptation and introduction of new financial solutions will be necessary to satisfy the change in demand of customers, while also allowing the bank to be involved in driving Thai startups to keep up with changes in the global market.

The mission of Digital Ventures is to get involved in the world of financial technology through various applications and create innovative solutions to support the needs of banks and businesses developing new products for the financial industry. Digital Ventures will be operated through three main divisions:

·         Corporate Venture Capital Division

·         Digital Products Division

·         Accelerator Division

Corporate Venture Capital Division

 The Corporate Venture Capital Division is headed by Mr. Polapat Arkkrapridi, Managing Director of Corporate Venture Capital. This division will be studying various technologies

in order to make investment decisions. With its initial capital of 50 million USD, the division’s first investment has been in Golden Gate Ventures, one of SEA’s most successful startup funds.

In the past week, Digital Ventures has entered an MOU with Life.SREDA, a world class venture capital fund specializing in financial technology based in Singapore. This collaboration with Life.SREDA will strategically benefit Digital Ventures in both research and investment, improving the company’s financial services in the future.

Digital Products Division

 The Digital Product Development division is headed by Mr. Suvicha Sudchai, Managing Director of Digital Products. The division will carry out research and development of financial technology products and services, similar to a laboratory within SCB, innovating new solutions and applying new approaches such as Blockchain, Internet of things (IoT), Machine Learning (AI), and Biometrics technologies to satisfy customer demand.

In August, the division will be opening a free-of-charge bank simulation platform that acts as a virtual testing environment for businesses developing financial technology products. This will give entrepreneurs an insight into banking mechanisms to test whether products are ready for market launch or not.

Moreover, Digital Ventures will be the first in Thailand to launch an API providing some of SCB’s data for the utilization of businesses to develop products. This service will also be free of charge and will be on the roadshow for the first time at Techsauce Summit

Accelerator Division

 The Accelerator Division led by Mr. Charle Charoenphan, Head of Accelerator, will provide knowledge, advice and funding for startups in order to strengthen Thai and regional financial technology businesses.

Digital Ventures has begun its first startup incubation program, under the name ‘Digital Ventures Accelerator’ (DVA). Startups who participate in the program will be intensely educated with basic knowledge of entrepreneurship through consultancy from knowledgeable mentors working closely with participants throughout the program. Each business participating in the program will be given a grant of 300,000 baht.

50% of the registration will be reserved for startups directly related to financial technology while the remaining half will be reserved for startups in other fields in order to maximize benefits for both SCB and its corporate and individual customers. The Digital Ventures Accelerator will be open for registration until the end of August.

About Digital Ventures – http://www.dv.co.th

Founded in 2016, Digital Ventures, a subsidiary of Siam Commercial Bank, is a company that promotes innovation in financial technology. Following the bank’s strategy to enter digital transformation, Digital Ventures aims to be a part in driving changes in the banking industry through investment, innovation and supporting Thai businesses to grow with SCB. At its inception, Digital Ventures has 50 million USD capital (1,750 million baht) for investment in financial technology.