TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) attended the Next Big award ceremony hosted by Startup Island Taiwan in Taipei on Monday morning (Aug. 21).

During a speech at the event, President Tsai said the government is continuing to update laws and regulations to build and support a startup ecosystem in Taiwan. Thanks to the hard work and creativity of the Taiwanese people, Tsai said she believed the nation would one day become a leader within the global startup sector.

Representatives from the National Development Council (NDC), the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the National Science and Technology Council, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and other governmental administrations were also in attendance.

Thirteen Taiwanese startups were awarded at this year’s ceremony from various industries, including education technology (AmazingTalker and Hahow), smart health (CuboAi and Health2Sync), cybersecurity (CyCraft and Gogolook), social media (Dcard), fintech (EUI), B2B software (FunNow, GoFreight, and Inline), sustainable energy technology (NextDrive), and defense aerospace technology (TronFuture).

Startup Island Taiwan is a national startup brand created by the NDC and the business community in order to better support the growing startup infrastructure in the country. The Next Big program is an initiative to identify and promote exceptional companies recommended by the Taiwanese startup community and industry leaders.

(Taiwan News photo)