The Small and Medium Enterprise and Startup Administration (SMESA) of Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) hosted the "Taiwan-U.S. SME Forum" on June 20, 2024, at the Sheraton LaGuardia East Hotel in New York City. The forum gathered government officials, representatives from SMEs and startups from both Taiwan and the United States, under the theme "United for Success". The event focused on development trends, challenges and cooperation opportunities in technological innovation and biotechnology and healthcare, with more than 80 participants from Taiwan and the United States in attendance.
During his opening remarks, Ambassador James Lee of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York highlighted the close and complementary economic relationship between Taiwan and the United States, emphasizing the critical role of SMEs. He expressed confidence that Taiwanese companies could enter the U.S. market through New York, while U.S. companies could use Taiwan as a springboard to enter East Asia and South Asia markets. He anticipated that the forum would foster numerous business connections and partnerships.
An official representative from the U.S. Small Business Administration noted the United States and Taiwan have a long standing and vibrant trade relationship. SBA will continue to work with Taiwan to grow the relationship for SMEs in the U.S. and Taiwan. SBA has 68 offices around the country and over 1,000 resource partners ready to assist SMEs. Hope by the end of this forum, SMEs will be better prepared to grow their business globally, form new partnership and opportunities.
Deputy Director General Chia-Ying Wu of the SMESA noted that the United States is the world's leader in high-tech industry and occupies a global leading position in biotechnology and healthcare. Taiwan enjoys advanced technologies including semiconductors, ICT, and a complete industry supply chain, as well as excellent clinical and medical sectors which have developed diverse cross-field medical applications and solutions. She highlighted the potential for collaboration in technological innovation and biotechnology and healthcare between Taiwan and the United States, looking forward to more substantive cooperation through the establishment of the official dialogue and non-governmental exchanges in the future.
The forum featured presentations from the U.S. Department of Commerce officials on the U.S. business environment and available resources. In the technological innovation segment, John Lynn, COO of WEVE Acceleration, Thomas J. Grech, President of the Queens Chamber of Commerce, Gancheng Sun, Business Strategy Director of Amogy, Terry Hsiao, President of Monte Jade Science and Technology Association of Greater Washington, and Hsin-Cheng Hsiao, CEO of Oen Tech, shared insights on the tech innovation environment and market trends in both countries. They also provided specific recommendations on cooperation models and market entry strategies.
In the biotechnology and healthcare segment, speakers included Po Chen, Founder and CEO of Cancerfree, Chen-Yong Cher, CTO of Graphen, Peikwen Cheng, CEO of Yiviva, Yen-Po Chin, Chairman of AGM International Group, and I-Lin Tsai, COO of Astron Medtech. They discussed the development of the U.S. biotech and healthcare market and shared perspectives on collaboration platforms, clinical trial cooperation, and technology commercialization.
The SMESA noted that 10 startups currently being incubated in New York were also invited to participate in the forum, providing them with exposure and business opportunities. The SMESA will continue organizing Taiwan-U.S. SME events to deepen bilateral economic and trade cooperation.