Development and Future Challenges of Business Incubators in Thailand

Advisors

Prof. Chachanat Thebtaranonth, Ph.D.

Rom Hirunpruk, Ph.D.

Editors

Naowarat Ayawongs
Akkharawit Kanjana-Opas, Ph.D.
Assoc. Prof. Supanee Chayabutra, Ph.D.

Published by

TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT CENTER

National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA)
111 Thaialnd Science Park,
Phahonyothin Road, Klong 1,
Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120 Thailand
Telephone : (662) 564-7000
Fax : (662) 564-7001 to 5
www.tmc.nstda.or.th

Designed and Produced by :

Phetkasem Printing Group Co.,LTD.

Nakorn Pathom 73000, Thailand
Telephone : (6634) 219-071 to 3
Fax : (6634) 253-465

Copyright 2007 by

TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT CENTER

National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA)

ISBN

978-974-229-495-3

Printed in Thailand

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword..iii
Acknowledgement..v

Business Incubation and Its Impacts..1

Business Incubators in Thailand and the Challenging Future.....12
Practical Plan and Implementation of TBI....30
The Incubation Center of Software Park Thailand.....48
Technology Business Incubator of Thailand Science Park, NSTDA.......52
Business Incubation in Thailand under OSMEPs support: Lesson learned..54
Introduction to University Business Incubator Management........................................60
Mentoring System of New University Business Incubator....66
Development of UBI and Viable Management System.....70
(Chulalongkorn University)
Commercialization of innovation: A case study of Mahidol University....76
Lesson Learned by Silpakorn University Business Incubator...82
Annex
Directory of Business Incubators in Thailand.........95

ii

Foreword
This book is written to provide the basic guidelines for managers of
technology-based business incubators, university business incubators, and
generic business incubators. The book also aims to help stakeholders and
all who are involved to understand better the concept of business incubation
and its impact on economic development.

The information presented is derived from the implementation of the project:

Strengthening the business incubation system in Thailand and its anchor
function in the Mekong Region by Technology Management Center of
National Science and Technology Development Agency, during 2006-2007,
funded by infoDev Incubator Initiative Program of World Bank. The main
goal of the project is to strengthen the Thai business incubation system
through capacity building and networking, and to subsequently build up an
anchor function for Thailand by fostering collaboration with future incubators
in the Mekong Region, particularly in Vietnam and Cambodia, and also in the
Philippines.

This will be done by transferring the successfully tested

components of the Thai project to the collaborating partners. A project

website:

MBIA-Mekong Region Business Incubator Alliances has been

launched and will assist all partners to jointly build up knowledge of good
practice in incubator management via an ICT-enabled support in the form of
an electronic knowledge management system.
Development and Future Challenges of Business Incubators in Thailand is
a very timely publication as Thailand is only just starting on its journey
towards a knowledge-based economy.

The manual presents the key

concepts and best practices with a focus on the early stage of incubation
development.

It also gives a brief history and an overview of business

incubation, the global practice of BI, and the experiences and insights of BI
managers in the past few years. It is my sincere hope that this book will be a
useful guide for business incubator managers, policy makers and other key -

iii

stakeholders seeking to develop new policies, strategies and

structures aimed at stimulating the economic development
through entrepreneurship and technology-based enterprises.

Finally, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the

infoDev Incubator Initiative Program of the World Bank for the
generous support provided.

I would also like to give special

thanks to Mrs. Naowarat Ayawongs, Deputy Director of Software

Park Thailand, the Project Leader and the initiator of this
manual. I am also very grateful to everyone who was involved
and has contributed his/her effort and time to this book. I hope
that this will mark the beginning of a strong and successful BI
movement in Thailand and in this region.

(Dr.

Chachanat Thebtaranonth)

Deputy Director of National Science and

Technology Development Agency

iv

Acknowledgement
Id like to acknowledge special thanks to everyone who contributed to the preparation of this
manual, from initial thought to content provision, editing and the completion of the book.

Thanks to Assoc.Prof.Dr.Usanee Yodyingyuad , Advisor of Chulalongkorn University

Intellectual Property Institute and BI Manager of Chulalongkorn University; Asst.Prof.Kamron
Pitak, Associate Dean for Academic Services and Quality System Management, Faculty of
Engineering, and Director of BI, Prince of Songkla University; Assoc.Prof.Dr.Supachai
Pathumnakul, Professor, Faculty of Engineering and BI Manager of Khon Kaen University;
Mr.Suphat Champatong, Director of Local Development, Art and Culture Reservation Group
of Commission on Higher Education;

Assoc.Prof.Dr.Supanee Chayabutra, Director of

Research and Development Institute and BI Manager of Silpakorn University; Mrs.Pimprapai

Theeracheep, Assistant Director, Applied and Technological Service Center and BI Manager
of Mahidol University; Prof.Dr.Amaret Bhumiratana, Director, Applied and Technological
Service Center of Mahidol University;

Mr.Pairoj Phootong, BI Manager of Kasetsart

University; Assoc.Prof.Dr.Jesda Kaewkulaya, Vice Rector of Kasetsart University for sharing

the experiences of UBI development and best practices. Thanks to Dr.Akkharawit
Kanjanaopas, Deputy Director, Research and Development Office and Deputy Director of BI,
Prince of Songkla University for sharing the experiences of implementing process for TBI;
Thanks to Dr.Pranee Kiatsurayanont, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility for SMEs
Project and the former Director of business incubator project for sharing policy of Office of
SMEs Promotion in business incubation project. Thanks to BI managers who sent the papers
to introduce their BIs. An appreciated thanks also go to Assoc.Prof.Dr.Supanee Chayabutra
and her team for the design, the look and the neatly work.

And a grateful thank to the financial support of infoDev Incubator Initiative Program of World
Bank to make this publication possible.

Naowarat Ayawongs
Deputy Director Software Park Thailand
Project Leader, infoDev Incubators Initiative Program, World Bank
Initiator of this publication

Business Incubation and Its Impacts

Naowarat Ayawongs
Deputy Director, Software Park Thailand

Background

Business incubation is an efficient tool that maximizes the success of emerging companies. It
subsequently creates jobs, revitalizes communities, and commercializes new technology
therefore enhancing economic development. Business incubation is not a new phenomenon. It
has been around since 1942 in schools and universities where students and professors were
given the opportunity to test and employ their knowledge and research to start up new
companies. In 1942, Student Agencies Inc., located in Ithaca, New York, was created to
incubate student companies. In 1946, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) president
1

Karl Compton and other alumni founded the American Research Development (ARD) incubator .
The first known incubator outside of the academic environment was the Batavia Industrial
2

Center (BIC) located in Batavia, New York in 1959 and the formal concept of business
incubation had been developed ever since. The UK and Europe developed later during the
1980s through various related forms such as innovation centers, technopoles center, science
parks, etc.

Figure1: Batavia Industrial Center (BIC): first business incubator,

2
Founded 1959 (Batavia/State of N.Y.)

Business incubators have been growing very fast. The recent mapping survey in 2005 of UK
3

Business Incubators identified around 270 incubation environments across the country .

As

from the most recent survey of the National Business Incubation Association (NBIA) in October
2006, there were about 5,000 business incubators worldwide, there were over 1,400 incubators

in North America, up from only 12 in 1980. Of the 1,400 incubators, 1,115 were in the United
4

States, 191 were in Mexico and 120 were in Canada .

The United Nations Industrial

Development Organization (UNIDO) has also played a significant role in monitoring and
promoting the development of business incubators worldwide and estimated an annual growth
rate of new incubators of about 20 percent5.

The reason for the rapid growth of business incubators is due to the proven track record of
successfully created new entrepreneurs which is done by providing services to support the
entrepreneurial process and helping to increase survival rates for generic start-ups or for
technological start-up companies. Business incubators have become increasingly important for
economic development, especially in relation to small business creation and to employment
opportunities. Interest in business incubation comes from a variety of sources which include
local and regional governments, universities, chambers of commerce, science parks, private
companies, private real-estate developers and nonprofit organizations.

The Objectives of Business Incubators

The typical objectives are usually the following:

Economic and socio-economic development

New entrepreneur creation

Reduction of business failure

Employment and wealth creation

Transfer of technology

Intellectual property and research/technology commercialization

Stimulation of technology enterprises

International competitiveness

Import replacement

Business cluster development

Types of Business Incubators

There is no unique type of business incubator. The focus of business incubators varies greatly
from country to country and even within individual country. The incubation type has been
adapted to meet a variety of needs. They vary between economies and regions depending on
the local conditions, culture, business development services and economic development policy.
There are considerable diversities in the types of business incubators and differ as to their

founding source.

Most of them (about 90%), are not-for-profit based focusing on innovation,

employment, economic enhancement and social development while the minority is profit-based
incubators.

In legal forms, the classification of business incubators has the following organizational
patterns:
Not-for-profit based
1. Public incubators run by government and non-profit organizations are objectively to
promote economic development.
2. Academic-related incubators usually located in the university or research institutions
are for facilitating technology transfers and for stimulating innovation through the
interaction of ideas between researchers and entrepreneurs on creating spin-off
companies.
3. Joint Public/private incubators are joint efforts or a partnership programs between
government and private/not-for-profit organizations to encourage the creation of new
entrepreneurs by combining the expertise of the private sector and the use of public
funding.

Profit based:

Profit-based incubators are usually owned by the private sector and seed capital investment
groups that are generally seeking a profit return on their investment.

In objectives defined by OECD in 1997 , the classification of business incubators were the
following:

1. General/Mixed-Use Incubators are incubators committed to promote regional industries

and community enterprises.
2. Economic Development Incubators are incubators that stimulate specific economic
objectives such as job creation and industrial restructuring, often the result of local
government initiatives.
3. Technology Incubators are incubators that promote the development of technologybased firms by encouraging entrepreneurship among researchers and academics.

In this age of knowledge-based and technological drive of economy, innovation and

entrepreneurship have become the prime drivers of economic growth.

Technology-based

incubators are envisioned by many countries as an effective instrument for local development,
technology transfers, stimulators of innovation and the cross-fertilization of ideas between
researchers and entrepreneurs to spin-off companies. Moreover, the information technology
revolution of the second half of the nineties has also expanded the traditional types of
incubation. The tendency shows that more incubators are increasingly becoming more and
more specialized in certain sectors such as biotechnology, ICT, agriculture, tourism, food,
fashion, arts and crafts, etc.

Roles of Business Incubators

Business incubation is a powerful tool that supports the creation and development of small
enterprises. The structure and functions of an incubator depends on local and national needs.
Well structured business incubators will provide all the resources and services needed to
enable the survival and growth of small businesses. Despite the different types of business
incubators, their processes and services are generally similar. The major role of Business
Incubators is to help entrepreneurs start or expand their business by providing various functions
in a supportive environment for the business. They are composed of hard services that provide
work spaces, utilities, facilities, equipment, cafeteria, post office, banks; and soft services that
provide coaching, mentoring, making an effective business plan, counseling, legal advice,
upgrading skills and techniques, networking, links to industries, access to market channel,
assistance with intellectual property protection, financial resources for R&D, access to capitals,
access to potential private investors and strategic partners, administrative services, finance and
accounting, and other shared services.

In business reality, small enterprises during the start-up period face many unavoidable
difficulties and challenges in bringing their businesses to life.

Therefore, many early-stage

companies choose to locate themselves on science parks or in business incubators in order to

take advantage of their supportive services during the period of the development of their
businesses. They can obtain privileged links to universities and research centers; access to
bespoke facilities and equipment; and dedicated support from business advisers.

Business Incubation Process

Business incubators can range from virtual networks to full-service environments that offer a
spectrum of business and educational resources. They can range in scope from local to

regional to national and international, and can be broadly focused or specialized in specific
technologies. In global practice, business incubators will provide the process of nurturing small
and start-up businesses to relative maturity in order to become self-sustaining, healthy, wealthgenerating entities of the economy.

Business incubators will set the entry criteria to select potential entrepreneurs.

Only

entrepreneurs with feasible projects are selected into the incubators. In general practice, the
exit policy for the graduates of the non-profit/publicly-funded incubators usually have
established limits on how long an incubatee or a tenant can stay in the incubator.

Some

incubators set this limit at 3-5 years, while for-profit incubators usually leave it more open.

Figure 2: Business Incubation Process of Traditional or Mixed-use Incubators

THE COMMUNITY
INPUT FROM THE
COMMUNITY TO
THE INCUBATOR

Entrepreneurs

Risk capital

Stakeholders
network
(mentoring and
business support)

INPUT TO
INCUBATOR
COMPANIES

Networking to
the know-how
network

Networking to
debt and equity
capital

Education,
training and
information
programs

OUTPUT FROM
THE INCUBATOR
TO THE
COMMUNITY

Fast growing,
super-star
companies

Counseling and
mentoring

INCUBATOR COMPANIES

Sponsors
(champions and
investment)

THE INCUBATOR PROGRAM

Strong small and

micro business

Talent pool of
entrepreneurs a
source of spin-off
companies

Shared
business
services

Flexible lease
space

THE COMMUNITY

Source: Rice and Matthews, 1995

Figure 3: Business Incubation Process of Technology Business Incubators

Science/Technology Park
University
Research

Technology
Transfer
Agent

Business
Angels

Incubator

Venture
Capital

Graduate
Firms

Spin-offs of
Large firms

Industrial Base and S&T Infrastructure

Source: Adapted from OECD (1997)

In general, most of business incubators provide both in-wall incubation programs and out-wall or
out-reached programs for nurturing the entrepreneurship.
resources provided are:

Work space at low rental fees

Infrastructure and facilities at nominal charges

Equipment and hardware

Communication

Business planning and training

Personnel training

Technical assistance

Business Advice

Consulting services

Management support

Coaching and mentoring

Marketing assistance and Promotion

Dissemination on product ideas/technologies

Access to market information

Access to investment/ government funding

Legal services

Networking

The services and necessary

Those services can be customized to local needs, conditions and culture.

In the United

States, incubation programs come in many shapes and sizes and serve a variety of
communities and markets:

54 percent are mixed-use, assisting a range of early-stage companies.

39 percent focus on technology businesses.

4 percent focus on service businesses, niche markets or other types of businesses.

3 percent serve on manufacturing firms.

Throughout incubation, the entrepreneur has access to a broad network of expertise coming
from successful role models and advisors with commercialization experience.

Evidence

indicates higher survival rates among business start-ups that benefit from business incubators
rather than those which are not supported by the incubation process. The National Business
Incubation Association (NBIA) has estimated that approximately 80 percent of incubated firms
survive their first three years, compared with a 35 to 40 percent of survival rate for nonincubated startups.

Key Elements of Business Incubator Success

There is no single formula for creating a successful business incubator, but several elements
are keys to success:

Governments supportive policy

Sound feasibility study

Selection of a competent manager and team

Establishment of entry and exit criteria of incubator clients

Flexible premises with favorable conditions and flexible rental arrangements

Supportive learning environment for both technical and business skills training

Dedicated business advice with ready access to specialists, business advisers,

mentors and investors

Branding and visibility in the marketplace

Ability to coordinate and access to venture capital and investors

Encouragement in networking opportunities.

Impacts of Business Incubators

As a result of the "technological revolution" in the United States in the late 1970s and early
1980s, and also the recessions in 1990s, large businesses were laying off thousands of
employees.

While small businesses became a significant factor in job creation, revenue

generator, and tax base expansion. Those events led economic developers to increase
economic activity and create programs that provided services in a nurturing environment and
concentrated support for small businesses at the start-up and the early-stage period to reduce
the probability of failure and to speed up the process of business creation. One option to
support business survival and growth is the business incubator, a locally based center created
to encourage and support new business development.

Incubating companies benefit from

shared services, workspace below market rental fees, equipment, market channels, networking
opportunities, dedicated advice, access to information and access to venture capitals. These
businesses, in return, provide jobs, generate income and contribute income taxes, thus
strengthening the local, regional, and even national economies.

More than 80% of small

business companies in incubators in both developed and developing nations successfully

transitioned from the incubation program to profitability. With the positive impact on the
development of local economy, economic development agencies, government and private
institutions had focused on adopting incubators as an economic development tool to support the
small business development.

In the fast growing population around the world today, the small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs) play more and more important roles as one of the powerful forces in economic
development and in accelerating the economic growth. They make a significant contribution to
the gross domestic product, generate more employment opportunities, increase the income of
communities and improve social environment. They account for 60-70 percent of employment
in OECD countries.

This number is often much higher in developing countries.

Many

government programs contain policy instruments emphasizing new structures and strategies to
help those small enterprises to survive and grow.

The support institutions for SMEs development such as business incubators, innovation
centers, industrial parks, software parks, technology parks and science parks have shown
themselves to be effective institutions for new business creation. Especially, in the last decade
business incubators have been attracting the increasing attention from indigenous policy
makers, academicians, economists, donors and international organizations in assisting
entrepreneurs in starting a new business and helping them to survive during the start-up period
when they are most vulnerable.

According to a UNDP study in Germany, more than 200

8

business incubators were working with 3700 SMEs which created 28,000 jobs. Based on NBIA
estimation in 2005, North American incubators assisted more than 27,000 start-up companies

that provided full-time employment to more than 100,000 workers and generated annual
9

revenues of more than $17 billion.

From those impressive records of impact, business

incubators have become an increasingly popular policy instrument for local economic and
employment development in many countries. They are growing rapidly around the world, from
200 at the beginning of the 1990s to about 5,000 today.

The players in business incubators

The incubators encompass a wide range of players including local and central governments,
regional development agencies, universities, science parks, technology centers, financial
institutions, non-profit making institutions and other involved stakeholders. But the government
is the main initiator and an important player in supporting and sponsoring the incubation
programs.
individuals.

The incubators may also be financially supported by other organizations or

According to NBIA survey, about 25 percent of North American business

incubators are sponsored by academic institutions, 16 percent are sponsored by government

entities, 15 percent are sponsored by economic development organizations, 10 percent are
sponsored by for-profit entities, and 10 percent are sponsored by other types of organizations.
About 5 percent of business incubators are hybrids with more than one sponsor, and 19
percent have no sponsor or host organization.

Despite the high recognition of business incubators and financial support provided by
government organizations or individuals, there is evidence that the availability of finance is a
critical issue in almost every incubator. The financial constraint is not only the critical problem of
incubators themselves to sustainability, but also for many entrepreneurial firms around the world
getting access to external capital is a difficult task. Therefore, the funding source either from
venture capitals or from angel investors is one of the major challenges for the success of
business incubators around the world as well.

Conclusion

In almost every country of todays economic development, the development of SMEs has
become a new focus of local sustainable development and a powerful force in accelerating
economic growth. Unquestionably, business incubators remain an evolving tool for the creation
of SMEs and play an important role in fostering the competitiveness and prosperity of the
national economy.

Well-managed incubators are considered as an effective element of

entrepreneurial assistance to success. Business incubation is on the rise on a global scale.

However, it is still a young industry in many countries and still at the learning stage for policy

makers to recognize the positive impacts and fully deploy the incubation system for the longterm growth of the nation.

10

References:
1. Incubators in the New Economy, Oonnut Mac Chinsomboon, June 2000, p27: An academic
thesis submitted to the Sloan, School of Management publicly available at
www.chinsomboon.com/incubator
2. www.mancusogroup.com/properties_bic.html
3. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
4. The survey of National Business Incubation Association as of October,2006 available at
www.nbia.org
5. Lessons from international experience for the promotion of business incubation systems in
emerging economies, Rustam Lalkaka, November 1997, pii: Trends in Incubator Systems
6. OECD,1997; AIFI, 2001; European Commission, 2002
7. National Business Incubation Association , available at www.nbia.org
8. PROMOTING AND SUSTAINING BUSINESS INCUBATORS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT
OF SMEs, Discussion Paper of UN-ECE prepared for the Expert Meeting on Best Practice in
Business Incubation held on 3-4 June 1999 at the United Nations in Geneva
9. 2006 State of the Business Incubation Industry, National Business Incubation Association ,
available at www.nbia.org

11

Business Incubators in Thailand and The Challenging Future

Naowarat Ayawongs
Deputy Director, Software Park Thailand

Introduction

Like many other countries, Thailand considers Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as one
of the principal driving forces of economic development. SMEs play a significant role in the
acceleration of economic growth. Since the economic crisis in 1997 in Thailand, the
government has initiated many assistance schemes (policies) to help lower failure rate and to
foster success for SMEs. One of the hot and popular tools in assisting SMEs to cope with the
challenges is business incubation.

It is an innovative methodology that creates new

entrepreneurial skills and new businesses.

The Department of Industrial Promotion, Ministry of Industry, was the pioneer that brought the
concept of Business Incubation to Thailand. The concept was derived from the experts at the
Industrial Development Authority of Ireland (IDA) to assist the industrial development projects
of Thailand in 1984. The implementation of several programs had been advised such as the
construction of Business Opportunity Centers (BOC), Industrial Clinics, Business Incubators,
etc. The business incubation program will help develop new entrepreneurs and support them
in starting up businesses that are able to survive on a longer-term sustainable basis.
However, it took several years before the policy makers bought into the idea of the Business
Incubation program which finally obtained a budget to operate in 2002.

DIP had promoted

the business incubation program through initiation of the New Entrepreneurs Creation (NEC)
program and implemented the first pilot incubator in the southern part of Thailand and later
implementation of other 11 incubators across the country. They were the Generic or a mixed
type of incubators provided free space and business training to help the local community to
create new and sustainable businesses. In 2002, the first specific and technological incubator
was also initiated by Software Park Thailand in nurturing new entrepreneurs in the software
business. The project was funded under the NEC program and the center has become the
role model of Business Incubators in Thailand ever since.

Despite the 11 incubators of DIP

being closed down in 2005 due to lack of supporting budget, Thai business incubators have
grown very rapidly from 14 incubators under the NEC program in 2003 to over 60 incubators
nationwide today.

In 2003, the Office of National Economic and Social Development Board (NSEDB) has taken
into consideration the business incubation project as a national policy. NSEDB organized a
meeting by inviting representatives from the Department of Industrial Promotion (DIP), the

12

Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion (OSMEP), the Institute of SMEs
Development (ISMED) and the National Science and Technology Development Agency
(NSTDA) for a brainstorming session to find a way to work collaboratively in developing a
national incubation system. As a result, OSMEP was designated as the principal agency that
would propose the master plan and promote the establishment of business incubators in
Thailand. But today, the OSMEP is no longer the only supporter, as there are 4 other
organizations also engaging in the Business Incubation project in which three are from
government organizations and one from a non profit organization (NPO) as listed below and
number of supporting incubators in Thailand shown in Table 1:

1. Department of Industrial Promotion (DIP), Ministry of Industry

2. The Office of SMEs Promotion (OSMEP), Ministry of Industry
3. National Science and Technology Development Agency(NSTDA), Ministry of Science
4. Commission on Higher Education (CHE), Ministry of Education
5. The Kenan Institute Asia (NPO)

Table 1: Number of Business Incubators in Thailand as of September 2007

Incubators
Community Business (DIP)

Types
Non-specific industries

Numbers

Established

12

2002
(11 closed in
2005)

Software Business (SWP, NSTDA)

Information Technology

2002

Public University (OSMEP)

Non-specific Industries

2002

Technology Business (TSP, NSTDA)

Science/Technology

2004

Thai-German Institute (DIP)

Mould and Die Industries

2005

Public University (CHE)

High-Touch/High-Technology

25

2005

Private Univ. / enterprises (OSMEP)

Non-specific Industry

12

2006

Public University (CHE)

High-touch/High-Technology

10

2006

Suratthani Vocational College (KIASIA)

Generic Fields

2006

Public University (CHE)

High-touch/High-Technology

10

2007

Figure 1 shows the shares of the main organisations supporting the business incubators
shown in Table 1. The CHE has a big share of 66%. OSMEP has the second largest share
at 23%. NSTDA with Science Park and Software Park has a share of 7 % and will definitely
increase the share within the next 3 years through establishing technology business

13

incubators in the Regional Science Parks. Other organisations cited here were the
Department of Industrial Promotion and Vocational College which have a share of 4 %. No
support partners were quoted among the Investor and NGO.

Figure 1: Main support partners of business incubators

OTHER

DIP
1%

3%

7%

NSTDA

45

16

23%

OSMEP

CHE
66%

Source: Survey of Thai business incubators 2007 by TMC, NSTDA. (n=69)

Thai Business Incubator and Science & Technology Park Association (ThaiBISPA)

As for strengthening the business incubation and supporting the networks of the business
incubators in Thailand, three organizations, who significantly support entrepreneurial
development in Thailand OSMEP, CHE, and NSTDA, have signed the MOU in September
2005 to form the Thai Business Incubator and Science & Technology Park Association
(ThaiBISPA) as a focal center for Thai business incubator networking and as a legal unit
representing Thailand in the global stage of the business incubation industry.

Current Status of Business Incubators in Thailand:

The recent survey of the status of Thai business incubators in November was an integral part
of the project Strengthening the business incubation system in Thailand and its anchor
function in the Mekong Region, a grant awarded in 2006 by the infoDev Incubator Initiative
Program of World Bank. At the time of this survey, there were approximately 60 business
incubators in Thailand.

Due to most of incubators are still very young, there were 40 out of

60 business incubators responsive to the overall project and only 23 business incubators
have participated in the status survey.

14

Looking at the results of the survey

According to the survey compiled by EXPERPLAN Consulting Company, the main supporters
and stakeholders of the 23 business incubators are the government/ public sector: OSMEP,
CHE, and NSTDA; the university/ academic sector (CHE) has a share of 73.9%. OSMEP is
represented by a share of 17.4% and science parks (NSTDA) have a share of 8.7%. Support
consists mainly of advice and financial support, as well as assistance in strategic planning
and in promoting the business incubators.

Mother organisation

The majority of mother organisations of business incubators are public universities. Other
business incubators have been set up by science parks and private universities (shown in
Figure 2). Two are private universities and 19 are state universities. Two business incubators
have science parks as their mother organisations.

Their main missions and objectives focus on encouraging and nurturing potential
entrepreneurs, as well as accelerating the commercialisation of R&D and innovative ideas.
Fostering businesses for national and international competitiveness are also a prominent role
in their missions.

Figure 2: Mother organizations of business incubators

Science parks
8.7%

19

State
universities
82.6%

2
Private
universities
8.7%

Source: Status survey Thai business incubators 2006. n=23)

15

Legal form of business incubators

As for the legal structure shown in Figure 3, 13 (56.5%) of the business incubators are
departments/ divisions under the presidential office of the university. Four business incubators
have a legal structure equivalent to the level of a faculty of the university. Three business
incubators are units under independent institutes of their universities. Two business
incubators are divisions of science parks under NSTDA.

Figure 3: Legal form of business incubators

Division of
science park
8.7%
Unit under
independent
institute
13.0%

n.a.
4.3%

3
13
4

Dept./ div.
under
president
office
56.5%

Independent
unit, equiv.
faculty level
17.4%

Source: Status survey Thai business incubators 2006. n=23

Age structure of business incubators

The respondent business incubators are still very young: 15 out of the 23 business incubators
that participated in the status survey have only been operational for a year or less (shown in
Figure 4).
Only 8 of the business incubators have been operational for over a year. The most
established business incubators are the ones from Software Park Thailand and
Chulalongkorn University with 4 years of operational experience.

16

Figure 4: Age structure of business incubators

2 to 3 years
4.3%

Older than 3
years
4.3%

1 1
1 to 2 years
26.1%

Less than 1
month
13.0%

6
Up to 1 year
(1-12 months)
52.2%

12

Source: Status survey Thai business incubators 2006. (n=23)

Developmental phase of business incubators

17 business incubators are stated to be in the operation phase and are already providing
services to incubatees or clients. Six are in the implementation phase as the preparation and
development of feasible business plans for the incubator are still underway, and thus they do
not yet provide regular services.

Figure 5: Developmental phase of business incubators

Operation
phase
73.9%

17

Implementatio
Implementation
n phase
phase
26.1%

Source: Status survey Thai business incubators 2006. (n=23)

17

Services offered by the business incubators

The services can be classified as follows:

Hard services including:

Office space

Infrastructure and facilities

Equipments and communications

Etc.

Almost all business incubators cover the range of typical premises and infrastructures offered
by a business incubator to its clients. They offer these either through their own incubator
resources or via outsourcing. Office furniture, meeting rooms and basic technical equipment
such as faxes, phones, printers and photocopiers are provided internally by almost all
business incubators. Most of them also provide their own plug-and play offices, an area for
product showcasing and equipment for presentations, high-speed internet access, and a
cafeteria.

Soft services including:

18

Pre-incubation services

Business Planning

Mentoring/Coaching

Training to develop business skills

Technology/technical expertise/sources

Counseling

Market Research

Access to market

Access to investment or financing

Networking

Legal advice

Finance and accounting services

Etc.

Operating costs

Operating costs of business incubators are so far mainly covered by revenues from financial
subsidies of national and public organisations which account for 85% of the revenues.

Occupancy rate of tenancy area

Since most business incubators are established by universities, they are also mostly located
at the university campus which provides free facilities for the incubators.

The floor and

tenancy areas of business incubators are usually very compact where the average floor size
is 300 sqm. and tenancy area is 150 sqm.
Most of incubators normally do not face problems dealing with a lack of space because
proportionally, the tenancy area to total floor area for each business incubator separately is
low as shown by the data.

In the survey, 14 out of 19 respondent business incubators

occupied up to 50% (Figure 6). The young age of the business incubation system in Thailand
could be a reason for this but it could also be due to other aspects: e.g. the concept of
business incubation was new to the target groups, the markets of the incubators were not well
defined or there was difficulty reaching out and attracting prospective incubatees into
incubation. This might indicate a need for an increased level of support for the management
teams responsible for reaching out to the target groups and successfully recruiting new
clients. It shows that efforts in general awareness on raising incubation issues might need to
be increased.

Figure 6: Occupancy rates of business incubators

Occupancy rate of tenancy area

More than 75%
51 to 75%
26 to 50%
11 to 25%
1 to 10%
No occupancy
0

2
3
4
5
No. of business incubators

Source: Status survey Thai business incubators 2006. (n=19)

19

Clients of the business incubators

As shown in Figure 7, business incubators have mainly university students, researchers,
developers and engineers as their main target groups. Most of them also have start-up and
newly established companies of 1-2 years of age. More than half of all surveyed business
incubators also target the local community as their clients. A few stated that they also target
their alumni networks of graduated students.
Figure 7: Target groups

Target groups of business incubators

University students

19

Researchers, developpers, engineers

19

Start-up and newly established

companies (1-2 years old)

17

Local community

12

Others*

5
10
15
No. of business incubators

20

Source: Status survey Thai business incubators 2006. (n=23). Others* is indicated as: Alumni/ graduate
students, spin-off companies (which might be subsumed also under start-ups),
entrepreneurs who want to go international, SMEs and OTOP businesses.

Business fields

When looking at the business fields of incubator clients, there is a notable variety, ranging
from agro-industry, health-care including pharmaceuticals, IT/software, tourism and spa,
material-/ nanotechnology, automotive, biotechnology, design materials, handicraft and other
fields.

The most prominent business field of incubator clients is the field of agriculture, agri-food and
food processing, which represents 21.9%, ranking it as the number one field among incubator
clients. Health-care, including pharmaceuticals is represented as second most represented
sector with 16.4%, and IT/ Software with 15.1% coming in third place as shown in Figure 8.

20

Figure 8: Main business fields of business incubators clients

Engineering
4.1%
Design
materials,
handicraft
4.1%

Other
11.0%

Agro-industry,
food
21.9%

Biotechnology
4.1%
Automotive
5.5%

Health care
16.4%

Material and
nanotechnology
8.2%
Tourism, spa
9.6%

IT/ Software
15.1%

Source: Status survey Thai business incubators 2006. *Others: Education/ training/ learning;
Media; Textiles/ fashion; Packaging industry; Not specifiable fields. (n=73)

Entry and exit criteria of the business incubator

The occupancy rate of tenancy area is still low at about 50 %. Hence for sustainability,
business incubators must keep their financial status secured from the rental income and to
meet with the key performance requirements of the funding organisations. Business
incubators do not strictly apply the entry and exit criteria.

Business incubator team

The team usually consists on an average of two to six members. The data shows that most
incubators have some management staff with prior managerial experience but less business
experience. On average, business incubators employ one manager, one or two assistants
and two administration staff. The total number of management and administration staff is fivesix staff per business incubator. Most of the management staff of a business incubator have
more than two years of managerial experience. Only some of them have no prior managerial
experience.

The result also shows that around 50% of their management staff work in parallel at the
business incubator and are expected to be fully functional at his/her other job at the

21

university. Thus, there is an immense work load and high manager turnover. Besides, the
uncompetitive compensation and missing long-term job security for a business incubator
manager to stay on, were also stated as reasons why it is difficult to recruit and keep skilled
managers.

Obstacles perceived for the development of Thai business incubators

The main obstacles expected for the future development of business incubators are listed
below. The lack of skilled personnel is ranked in first place. Second is the lack of technical
expertise related to responding adequately to special technical-/ technology-related needs of
clients. The third rank is shared by a stated lack of management skills of the management
team and a lack of policy support perceived at a national level. The lack of funding, which is
not the critical problem presently, will be an issue for most business incubators in the future.

Ranking of obstacles for business incubator development:

1.

Lack of experienced and skilled manager

2.

Lack of technical expertise

3.

Lack of skillful management team

4.

Lack of policy support at a national level

5.

Lack of business expertise

6.

Lack of supporting funds

7.

Lack of policy support at an organizational level

8.

Lack of strategic plans on business incubation

9.

Lack of a clear understanding the objectives of Business Incubation

10. Lack of public awareness

11. Lack of seed funding
12. Lack of investor or venture capital

22

Best Practices that can be adapted to business incubators in Thailand

The best practice for day-to-day running of incubators will ensure that incubators deliver
quality service to incubating clients. The following best practices are the key lessons learnt
from experience, from different types of incubators, and from practices in different countries in
the EU and in the US, which can be adapted to business incubators in Thailand:

Form the advisory board: Every incubator should have an advisory board before
thecenter starts operating. The ideal incubator advisory board provides strategic direction
and leadership for the incubation operation. The board should be small and flexible in
order to adapt to the requirements and should be composed of a mixture of individuals in
terms of characteristics, backgrounds, and skills.

Determine the objectives and the missions: They serve as the backbone and provide
an overall direction for the incubator administration.

To minimize problems for the

incubator, difficulties in future operations, policies, objectives, missions and procedures

should be outlined from the beginning of operation.

Select a competent team: Incubation experts all agree that the success of an incubator is
heavily depend on the incubator manager.

Even though, the duties of the incubator

manager are wide and varying, the best practice suggests that the manager should focus
on coordinating the delivery of good services and should work with other agencies that can
provide complementary and additional services to incubating companies.

Develop the operation policy documents: Operation documents provide an overview of

business incubation, the incubators mission and the support services provided, as well as
the practical rules of residing in an incubator. Operation documents can be used as an
incubator handbook or manual and used as policies and procedures manuals. They can
be formal documents connected to the lease agreement or just informal checklists that can
take the form of additional information available on an incubator intranet. Operations
documents fitted to Thai business incubator system address a number of topics including:

Incubator mission

Availability of professional services, events and programs

Prices of business assistance services

Availability of support services, reception, office equipment, books and other

resources

Billing procedures

23

Operation of office equipment

Mail and parcel services

Telephone installation and usage

Building security procedures

Building maintenance and safety

Procedures for using shared spaces such as conference rooms and libraries

Furniture and equipment rental

Entry and exit policies

Parking and smoking policies

Etc.

Define the contractual agreements:

There are three types of agreements that are

popular practices in the incubator:

1. Lease agreement is a contract for space rental only.

2. License agreement is a contract which includes the use of space and the licensing
fees for other services.
3. Service agreement is a contract that does not encompass the use of space, but
agrees to make use of the incubators services.

Place an intellectual property policy: A good IP policy will encourage innovation. It also
clarifies how to commercially exploit researched products and how the IP office will return
the rights or benefits to the inventor or the researcher. It is important for all those involved
to have a clear understanding of the different forms of IP such as Patents, Copyrights,
Licenses, Trade Marks, etc.

Setup the incubation procedure: Incubators should develop policies and procedures to
manage the center and to ensure that quality processes are implemented. The typical
procedure is shown below:

24

The Incubation Process

Workspace and
facilities

Business
networks and
Alliances

Business and
Technical
Training

Business Support Services

Access to
industry
experts

Access to
Market/Trade
Exhibitions

Provide business support services:

Coaching /
mentoring and
consultation

Business
Matching

Access to
venture capital
finance
institutes

The incubation process provides much of the

business support and assistance needed to the start-up companies for their business
development. The business support provided at incubators can be from in house services
or from external sources. Most of those resources and services can be found on the
following list:

Office spaces and facilities

Pre-incubation services

Business planning

Business and technical training

Advice on development of new products and services

Experienced business people, industry experts and other senior advisers

Market research, sales and marketing

E-business and other aspects of ICT

Exporting and/or partner search abroad

Accessing bank finance, grants, venture capital

Management

Networking

Accounting, legal and other related services

Other services

25


Marketing: The incubator manager must be active in promoting the center and its services
in order to attract clients. A good marketing plan can greatly facilitate the letting of space.
The marketing process should begin prior to the incubator opening.

Nonetheless

incubator budgets cannot afford extensive marketing and promotional campaigns. Early
promotion through media presence, direct mail campaigns to potential tenants, arranging a
seminar or developing a newsletter should create anticipation and awareness before the
center opens. Eventually, in order for the incubator to become a well-known enterprise and
easily recruit tenants, it should create its own brand and position it within the community.

Entry criteria: To be a successful incubator in assisting potential companies achieve

sustainability and growth, the selection process should be aligned with the purpose and
objectives of the incubator.

Incubators should have a formal application form to ensure

that all the required information of the applied company is obtained from the start. The
application process is usually followed by at least one face-to-face interview so that
incubators can have a more accurate view of the company. The interview committee
should be composed of different types of expertise such as business, technological,
financial services, and include experts in the related industries.

Exit strategy: Although, it is not a serious issue at the moment for the Thai business
incubators, an exit policy should be also well-defined to ensure that services and
resources of business incubators remain focused on assisting start-up companies by
encouraging companies to graduate once they reach a certain stage of development. The
exit criteria should be informed from day one of entry by highlighting it on application
forms, in client manuals, in stand-alone handouts, and in client leases or in license
agreements.

Networking: A business incubator has two networking roles to play. The first role is to
establish its network of contacts to assist in providing support, training and counseling for
the start-up companies. The second role is to organize and facilitate networking
opportunities among the incubating companies.

The development of links with local research institutes: It is critical to the success of
the university business incubator. There are numerous initiatives in which the incubator
and institution can work together for the benefit of incubating firms.

They can be

technology transfers, student interns, facilities, faculty expertise, and alumni networks.

26


Inter-firm linkages: As for encouraging inter-firm linkages, the business incubator should
organize and facilitate networking by organizing events regularly for incubating companies.
This provides an opportunity for new entrepreneurs to build up social and business contact
networks within the incubator. It is easier for companies in similar industries to share
equipment, obtain contacts and learn from one another. Entrepreneurs at similar stages of
development face similar challenges and would benefit from sharing problems and
solutions. Entrepreneurs at earlier stages of development can also learn from those further
advanced.

Company Evaluations: Company evaluations or reviews are useful for providing external
insight to the operations of a business, which may be overlooked by the company
founders. The incubator should have a process for evaluating client progress with regular
reviews on a weekly to a quarterly basis with the manager of the client company. The
manager then makes recommendations that should be pursued in the future.

Incubator Evaluations: Incubators are encouraged to complete regular evaluations on

the incubation process. Evaluations are important in identifying key areas for improvement.
The evaluations should involve all stakeholders including entrepreneurs and sponsors.

The Best practice is applied similarly to all incubators regardless of nationality. But the
Best practice is not a static concept. There is always room for improvement. The structure
and services provided by the business incubators are vary depending on the local and
economic environments.

For instance, even though incubators throughout the world are

involved in equity and royalty arrangements with incubating clients, since it can be a source of
funds independent of rents, subsidies and income from services, this is not applied to Thai
incubators at the current stage.

Nevertheless, its a very clear message from global

experience that the Best practice is a powerful guideline for operating incubators
successfully. But it is more importantly that the success factor for the development of
business incubation programs requires wide participation and full support from both national
and regional stakeholders to put effort into establishing good policies, linkages and
collaboration to strengthen the business incubation system in Thailand.

27

Recommendations and future challenges for Thai Business Incubators

(1) The supporting organizations should strongly focus on building the professional capacities
of the business incubator management teams. A competent, dynamic manager is critical to
the successful operation of an incubator.

A capable manager is able to enforce an

appropriate set of operational rules for the facility and for the effective management of an
incubator. Lack of skilled personnel, of technical expertise and of management skills within
the incubator management team are perceived as the major obstacles for the incubators
development.

(2) The management staff should have sufficient time available for core business incubationrelated tasks. According to the survey, about 50% of the management staff work in parallel at
the business incubator and are expected to be fully functional at his/her other job at the
university. Some business incubator managers even spend more than 50% of their work time
with administrative procedures.

(3) The supporting organizations should improve and reduce the turnover period of the
manager which is high due to a lack of incentive, lack of a clear job description and long term
commitment.

(4) Business incubators must have a sound strategic plan when establishing and operating
the incubators.

(5) Business incubation in Thailand is new for the stakeholders and it is difficult to define the
target groups and to motivate the target groups so that researchers or students will become
entrepreneurs. The funding organizations should also facilitate the business incubators work
with an increased level of support in achieving an increased awareness and understanding of
business incubation issues among stakeholders.

(6) The incubator should tailor their services to the requirements and the needs of its clients
and encourage the use of internet and IT-related applications. This could increase the clients
satisfaction.

(7) Business incubators should build connections and networks with global business
incubators for exchanging knowledge and experiences.

(8) The supporting organizations should improve business environments to facilitate the
creation of new businesses.

28

(9) The mother organizations should work on regulations that facilitate the operation of their
business incubator divisions.

(10) National support programs need to consider the continuation of supporting funds for the
future development of business incubators.

(11) Although the occupancy rates of most of the incubators do not face problems of lacking
spaces.

But there is tendency indicated that in the coming two years the space of the

incubator may not be sufficient. So be ready in this issue is a must to do.

(12) The successful implementation of business incubation programs requires a wide

participation of both national and regional stakeholders. Therefore, all involved stakeholders
must work closely together as a national team to provide continued support in all the
necessary needs for the success of business incubators in Thailand.

29

Practical Plan and Implementation of TBI

Akkharawit Kanjana-Opas, Ph.D.

Introduction
This chapter aims to provide the general concepts of how to practically plan
for the establishing and implementing a Technology Business Incubator
(TBI), based on the experience of the author on setting up TBI at Prince of
Songkla University during 2005-2006 with the assistance and guidance of
several experts in setting up and running business incubators from National
Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), InWEnt and
Experplan. The key steps described in this chapter were adapted from the
training materials provided by InWent and NSTDA and other materials and
handouts given by various speakers and experts in establishing and
operating business incubator worldwide.
Practical Plan
It is highly crucial to plan before setting up any technology business incubator
because of its function as a service provider for technology related
businesses. Therefore, the background analysis and feasibility study on
setting up TBI must be taken into consideration in order to effectively develop
the business plan for the TBI.

The diagram in Figure 1 shows the five

important steps during the pre-operation of the TBI.

SWOT Matrix
1. Supply Side
Analysis
2. Demand Side
Analysis

3. Gap or Mismatch
between Supply and
Demand Sides

4. Feasibility Study

Figure 1 Five importance steps during pre-operation of TBI

30

5. Business
Plan
Development

Work Plan for Feasibility Study

The over all planning for background analysis and feasibility study of TBI establishment is shown in
Table 1 where the specific activities and time are correlated. The duration of each activity may vary
slightly depending on the availability of information or resource persons-in the case of an interview.
However, based on the author experience, the whole process should not take longer than 6-8 months.

Table 1 Work Plan for Feasibility Study of TBIs establishment

No.

Activity

Month
1

Training Development of a TBI

Constitution of TBI set-up team

Background analysis

1.1

Desk research

1.2

Assessment of secondary sources

Market testing

2.1

Preparation of questionnaire, interview

guides and cover letter

2.2

Interviews, questionnaires

2.3

Meetings with stakeholders, entrepreneurs

and other beneficiaries

2.4

Evaluation of interviews, questionnaires

Interim report feasibility study

Go or no-go decision

X
X

X
X

A case study in SWOT Matrix Analysis

By analyzing the strength, weakness, opportunity and threat related to business development and
entrepreneurship in the region where TBI will be located, it would give the TBI team an overview of
the past and the current situations which will have tremendous effects on how the TBI should be
effectively and appropriately developed. SWOT matrix analysis also provides the information
necessary for preventing failure in both setting and operating TBI. The TBI should discuss extensively
on these four particular topics in order to obtain the complete information which reflects the situation
in the region. It is recommended that the team with diverse background and experience related to
business development, technology commercialization or research and development are encouraged.
It is probably a better idea to review, revise and refine the SWOT matrix analysis until the common
agreement can be reached among the team members. An example of SWOT matrix analysis of the
southern region of Thailand is shown in Table 2.
31

Table 2 SWOT matrix analysis of the southern region in Thailand

Strengths

Weaknesses

Location

Location

Abundant and diverse natural

resources
Close to the ocean and ports

Resources/supports
Existing of various agricultural
based/agro-industries
Broad spectrum of educational
institutions ranging from
comprehensive university to technical
college
Existing of supporting agencies and
government offices for
entrepreneurship promotion
Area of excellency focused on
Biochemistry, Agro-Industry,
Pharmaceutical Science
Research centers focusing on Oil
Palm, Para Rubber, Nutraceutical
and Functional Food, Sea food, Halal
food, Membrane Technology,
Biodiesel and other alternative
energy products
Excellent supports from Chamber of
Commerce, Federation of Industry
and other business groups
Opportunities

32

National policy on university

reformation forces initiation of
university-industry collaboration
Strategic plan for development of
southern provinces
Provincial strategic plans
National policy on knowledge based
economy (focused on Science and
Technology)
Policy of Entrepreneurship promotion
Increasing awareness of research
commercialization
PSUs plan on establishment of
Southern Science Park

Long geographical area with

mountain ranges in the middle of the
peninsula

Resources/supports

Most of existing industries are low to

medium technology enterprises
Lack of coordination/cooperation
among educational institutions
Insufficient collaboration between
academic institutions, supporting
agencies and industries
Social securities and socio-political
conflicts

Threats

Globalization of trade
FTA
Competition of existing industries
Supply of raw materials
Short of labours
Social securities and socio-political
conflicts

1. Supply Side Analysis

The objectives of supply side analysis are to review and assess the existing supports related to
starting up a technology based company in the region. This analysis is highly important in order to
determine the position, role and function of the TBI in the region. One may be surprise to find out that
many services which are important for entrepreneurial development have already been available in
the area but they are either fragmented or ineffectively exploited by entrepreneurs or SMEs. In the
case of Prince of Songkla University, comprehensive list of service providers and supply side
stakeholders in the southern part of Thailand was collected and summarized as shown Table 3.

Table 3 List of Stakeholders from supply side

List of main stakeholders in the region
Private Sector

Government sector

The Federation of Thai Industries

Prince of Songkla University

(Southern Regional Chapter)

Thaksin University

Federation of Southern Border Business

Walailak University

Chamber of Commerce (Southern

provinces)

Rajabhat Songkla University

Rajabhat Yala University

SME Network

Specialized Industrial Groups

Technical colleges ( in Pattani, Satul, Pattalung,

Pang Nga and Had Yai)

Small and Micro Community Enterprises

Network

Industrial Promotion Centers: Region 10 and 11

Small and Medium Enterprise Development

Bank of Thailand

OTOP Network

Commercial Banks

Private Telecommunication and

Transportation companies

Technology Clinic-PSU branch, Ministry of

Science and Technology

IMT-GT Office

Shipping companies

Airport of Thailand Public Company

Limited

Institute for Small and Medium Enterprises

Development (ISMED)

Provincial Public Health Offices

Provincial Agriculture Offices

Provincial Industry Offices

Provincial Commerce Offices

Committee on Peace Promotion in the Southern

Border Provinces

Provincial Statistic Offices

National Economic and Social Development

Board (Southern region office)
33

List of main stakeholders in the region

Southern Region Investment and Economic

Center 1

Bank of Thailand (Southern branch)

Southern Industrial Estate EPZ

Songkla Rubber Research Center

National Institute of Coastal Aquaculture

Phuket Marine Biological Center

Regional Medical Science Centers

Private Laboratories

Health System Research Institute

Regional Custom Bureau

Provincial Land Transportation Authority Office

Harbor Department

Port Authority of Thailand

State Railway of Thailand

Communication Authority of Thailand

TOT Corporation Public Company Limited

Provincial Electricity Authority

Provincial Waterworks Authority

PTT Public Company Limited

Department of Pollution Control

The result of supply side analysis showed that the service provider or supply side stakeholder in the
south of Thailand could be classified into 4 different groups i.e. business counselling and training
(55%), finance and investment (30%), scientific analysis including R &D (10%), others (5%) as shown
in figure 2. According to our survey, 62 % of the stakeholders know about TBI through direct contact
with TBI (44%), attending seminar or workshop where TBI was introduced (35%). From their
understanding, TBI should provide technological/production consultation (27%), business consult
(26%), R&D consult (26%), space for start-ups (17%). Therefore, the most important roles of TBI,
based on this data, are to increase new business potential (36%), enhance entrepreneurs skills
(33%), support business (17%) and R&D services (14%).

34

Type of Services (Supply side)

5%

10%

30%

55%

(analysis)
# (Finance and Investment)

 (Business counselling, training)

### (others)

Figure 2 Type of available services and supports related to starting up a technology based company
in southern Thailand

The summary of supply side stakeholders analysis is shown in Table 4. It is quite interesting and
important to note that 95% of stakeholders had not provided any of their services through or in
collaboration with business incubator even though there was one existing business incubator in the
region. When discussed about the willingness to collaborate and join service providing with future setup TBI, all of them had agreed and were very interested in this type of collaboration because of the
following reasons; joint-services could enhance the benefits to the customers as well as reducing cost
and time of operation; some of overlapping or missing supports can be eliminated or created; and the
confusion of entrepreneurs would be minimized. Therefore, TBI at Prince of Songkla University had
adopted the model which the TBI would act as a coordinator for all the stakeholders in order to set up
a one-stop service center on site.

35

Table 4 Summary of supply side stakeholders analysis

Stakeholder and
basic characteristics

Interests and how

affected by the TBI

Attitude towards
entrepreneurship, new
business activities, the
TBI project

Possible actions to
address stakeholder
interests

Municipal, country or
regional authorities

Moderate interest in
TBI but will be
greatly affected by
TBI

-Not very clear

understanding about
entrepreneurship
especially for their roles
as supporters

-TBI must inform the

role, functions, and
benefits of TBI on
community and region
development

-Seriously lack of correct

understanding about the
role of TBI

-TBI team should

prepare different
formats of media in
order to distribute to
target group (brochure,
CDs and
advertisements on
Radio and Television,
website

(public promoter)

-Misuse or improper
allocation of resources
especially budget

Academic institution,
research center,
training institutes
(promoter of
technology)

High interest in TBI

and greatly affected

-Showed strong interest

in reaching out to
entrepreneur but still lack
of the connection with the
industry
-Lack of understanding
and desire in
Entrepreneurship but can
be stimulated
-Many showed interest in
TBI services and willing
to join

-PSU has been acting

as a coordinator of the
southern educational
institutions network
which includes
universities and
colleges.
-This network had
already been informed
about TBI project and
all showed strong
interest in joining or
collaborating
-Regular meeting
among the members of
this network
-TBI team will organize
campus visit in order to
promote TBI project
and evaluate the
current status of each
institution

36

Chamber of
Commerce

High interest in TBI

and greatly affected

Federation of
Industry

- Positive attitude toward

the TBI project
-Willing to support

(non-profit interest)

-Regular meeting with

TBI team in order to
inform the progress
and discuss problems,
get some advises,
comments
-TBI team plans to
participate in their
important meetings and
introduce the TBI
project to their
members

Other providers of
business incubation
services (competitor
or cooperation)

High interest in TBI

and greatly affected

Positive attitude toward

the TBI project
-Willing to support and
collaborate

-Form alliances for

business incubation in
order to support each
other

2. Demand Side Analysis

According to our survey either by questionnaire or interview, it was found that the most important
needs and requirements from the demand side were marketing support, followed by investment fund
and technological supports, respectively. Production and production management, equipments,
human resources development and other financial support were considered as a second most
important needs and requirement. Whereas investment privilege, space for setting up a company,
research and development, infrastructures, legal services, legal services and analysis & certifying
were grouped together as the third most important needs from the demand side (see Figure 3).
However, it should be noted that there were significant differences among the two groups
representing demand side i.e. entrepreneurs and researchers/faculty members or students from
university. Entrepreneurs mostly needed marketing and related services but not so much on space for
setting up a company whereas researchers, faculty members and students in the university needs
investment fund and spaces for setting up company but not research and development or
technological supports. These may be due to the background and experience of these two different
groups. According to the results of our survey, it was interesting to mention that the satisfaction of the
demand side on the current services available was rated less than satisfied for the production and
facilities. On the other hand the satisfaction on investment loan service was divided equally between
very satisfied and least satisfied. One possible explanation of this result was the differences in policy,
capability and regulations of the financial institutions. Some might be very strict on giving out loan and
some might not be so. Because of the wide range of background and attention of entrepreneurs, we
believed that this might affect their chance of getting loan from the financial institutions. The
37

awareness of business incubator on the demand side was quite good. Almost 60 % of the surveyed
target already knew or heard about business incubator either by direct contact with business incubator
(36 %) or attending a seminar and workshop where business incubator was introduced or mentioned
(36 %). Others heard or knew about TBI project through various kinds of media such as newspaper,
television or radio. Only 4 % of the surveyed group knew or learnt about business incubator from the
website. This could also mean that there are not many websites related to business incubator
available in Thai language. When asked about the roles of TBI, the demand side had some
understanding about it. The majority thought that TBI play an important role in business consultation
(31%), research and development consultation (21%), technological consultation (19%), providing
space and facilities for start-ups (19%), as shown in figure 4.
Ranking of Services Needed from BI
(Marketing)
# (Investment Fund)
(Technolgical supports)
(Production)
# # (Equipments)
(Human Resources Development)
# (Other Financial Supports)
(Investment privilege)
#/ (Space for Setting up company)
(R&D)
./ (Infrastructures)
(Legal services)
(Analysis & Certifying)
0.00

1.00

2.00

3.00

4.00

5.00

6.00

Score

Figure 3 Ranking of services need from business incubator

The result of this study also showed that the demand side expected TBI to be able to enhance new
entrepreneurial skills (41%), increase new business potential (26%), support business (15%), conduct
R&D (11%), as shown in figure 5. Based on the information and data collected during the interview
and meeting with entrepreneurs as well as the questionnaires, the factors which were considered as
key parameters essential for setting up and facilitating business were rated and the data were shown
in Annex 5.

It was important to note that the existing infrastructures, telecommunication,

transportation, waste treatment system, R&D equipment and services as well as the competency of
R&D staffs were rated mainly good or excellent. On the other hand, the policy, supports from regional
government, public understanding and promotion of entrepreneurs were rated fair or poor. When
38

evaluating the technology transfer capability in the southern region, we found that the level of
technology which can be transferred or developed to business in the region was rated fair (40.91%),
good (31.82%) and excellent (13.64%). However, the readiness of organizations, manpower and
consultation were mostly considered to be fair (76.92, 66.67 and 72.22 % respectively).

The

availability of equipments was rated excellent (18.18%), good (27.27%) and (50.00%). The majority of
surveyed target rated the fair (57.89 %) and good (31.58%) convenience when obtain the services.

What are the roles of BI?

10%
19%

21%

31%

19%

# (Space)
(Technology consults)
# (Others)

(Business consults)
(R&D consult)

Figure 4 The understanding of demand side on TBIs general roles.

39

The Most Important Role of BI

7%

11%

41%

15%

26%

(Enhance New Entreprenuers' skills)

( Provide business supports)
# (Others)

(Increase New Business Potential)

(R&D)

Figure 5 Most important role of TBI according to demand sides expectation.

Other business supports such as cost and convenience of setting up a business, investment fund and
consultation, tax and marketing services were rated mainly fair to good. According our survey, 67% of
entrepreneurs are currently using business incubator services and 14 % had used business incubator
services before. The reason for leaving business incubator was the time limit policy of the business
incubator. Given the fact that the increasing trend in entrepreneurship and commercialization of
research outputs as well as the unsatisfied needs on existing facilities and supports of the demand
side, it is highly reasonable for setting up a technology business incubator in order to serve or meet
with the markets demand.
3. Gap or Mismatch between Supply and Demand Sides
It is quite obvious from the results of supply and demand sides analyses that the gap and mismatch
between these two stakeholders are actually presence. The role of the TBI is
therefore to strategically fill up the gap according to the existing and future
demand. TBI must provide the services ad supports which are critically
needed or highly essential for starting up and operating business. In the case
where these particular services or supports can not be provided directly by
TBI, the out-sourcing to existing services provider is recommended. If there
are more than one existing services, TBI should the development of criteria
40

and selection procedure in order to match the entrepreneurs or SMEs with

the right and appropriate services and supports. It is recommended that the
discussion and brain storming among the TBI team and experts should be
done in order to develop the clear strategic and practical action plans before
the feasibility study and business plan development. Otherwise, the
estimation of the cost and budget required for setting up and operating TBI
can be either under or over-estimated. This will eventually lead to the
impractical action plan or the unfeasible business plan of the TBI.
4. Feasibility Study of TBI
In this step, the TBI team should be able to explain whether you consider
your TBI project to be feasible with the reasons for going on with your TBI
project. If feasible,

what would be the most appropriate TBI design, and its

vision and mission. The following questions may be help full for the team to
use as a guideline to study the feasibility of the TBI.
- What is the target market of TBI (e.g. which type of companies shall be
incubated in your TBI regarding technology fields, market sectors)?
- Which target groups did you identify for your TBI (e.g. where will potential
entrepreneurs come from? How will you contact them or raise their
awareness)?
- How will your TBI contribute to advancing regional priorities? Which
services, infrastructures and facilities do you intend to offer in your TBI?
- What will be the estimated size of your TBI?
- Where is the TBIs location? How can it be reached by car, bus, etc.?

- Why you chose the location?

- What will be your next steps, which activities do you plan?
- How do you plan to ensure the dissemination and discussion of the results
of the feasibility study?
- Who will be partners in your TBI project?
- What will be the role of the partners? When do you plan to start the set-up/
operation of your TBI?
- Who might be in the TBI team of staff?

41

5. Business Plan Writing

If the feasibility study of the TBI shows the positive result, TBI team should
continue the mission by developing the business plan for the TBI. The
business plan will serve as the tool for operating the TBI effectively. The
outline of TBI business plan is listed below
1.1 Mission Statement
1.2 Vision
1.3 Strategic objectives
2.1 Potential of target market and technologies focused on
2.2 Target group of customer segmentation
2.3 Competitors for the TBI and implication
3.1 TBI type, location and ownership of the building
3.2 Infrastructures
3.3 Services
4.1 Legal status
4.2 Ownership
5.1 TBI board and advisory committee
5.2 TBI staffing
5.3 Personnel costs
5.4 Remuneration system/motivation system
5.5 Future need for personnel
5.6 Organization chart
6.1 Promotion strategies
6.2 Marketing plan
6.3 Entry and exit policies
6.4 monitoring and evaluation
7.1 Risk analysis (SWOT)
7.2 Effects of risks on the TBI
7.3 Optional ways to act
7.4 Factors of success
8.1 Assumptions
8.2 How funds will be used
8.3 Capital requirements
8.4 Self-sustainability strategy
42

8.5 Conclusion
9.1 Go/no-go decision for implementation
9.2 Recommendations for practical steps to put the business plan
into practice
9.3 Work plan and time table
Annex
-List of TBI team member
-Logos
-Letters of local supports
-Name lists of stake holders and support providers
-Financial plan
-Occupancy and turnover
-Cost
-Investment and depreciation
-Personnel development
-Profit and loss
-Location blueprints or floor plan
6. Next steps towards business planning and set-up of TBI
The following is an example of how PSU TBI has implemented its own
business plan in place. Given the fact that it was set up as a university TBI,
some of the detail may or may not be relevant to the TBI setting outside of
the university administration.
The implementation of TBI will involve several activities at the same time.
The followings are the recommendation given in consent of TBI supporting
team.

Please note that, since some of the items have to be executed

simultaneously and separately, the recommendation given below therefore is

not addressed chronologically. The work plan will re-address all the steps in
a more time-wise fashion, including time required (how long and when) for
each steps to be in action.

43

- Organization and legalization

This particular step intends to legalize the official status of TBI as a division
affiliated to the Research and Development Office. Currently, the Director of
the Research and Development Office, as TBI supporting team leader, is in
charge in reporting the progress and current position of the TBI
establishment project to the university executive administration. However,
whereas the project is entirely acknowledged among the policy makers of the
university, thus implying the integration of the unit into the upcoming plan of
university, the unit needs to be officially endorsed in the level of the
University Council, so that the legal commitment from the university,
including the budget allocation, can be issued. Also, the endorsement by the
university will facilitate the co-operation and collaboration of TBI with all the
schools, departments, and research centers in the university, especially
when accessing the expert network in the university is needed, as well as to
formalize the framework and required regulation to accommodate the
researchers spin-off.

The formalization will encourage the potential

researchers and inventors to come up with their products to be

commercialized.
Another outcome from the organization process is the merging and/or market
segmentation and share among the BIs that belong to the university.
Presently, although acknowledged that TBI will be responsible in being the
headquater/coordinator of the three BIs, the status and share of all three BIs
have not been officially discussed nor laid out.

- Personnel recruitment and training.

This step involves all the process required for the personnel management,
from the staff recruitment, training, and the pre-operation and planning
implementation by TBIs own staff.
According to the plan regarding the staff requirement, the minimum of three
staff members (the managing director, secretary, and an expert) is needed to
be on duty at a minimum of three-month period of pre-operation.

The

recruitment process therefore has to be set ahead of that period. The current
TBI supporting team will be responsible in the recruitment process, which will
require at least two-month period prior to appointing an appropriate person.
44

Of particular interest, the position of managing director needs to be directly

appointed by the advisory committee; that is, the advisory committee
endorses the consent for such position upon the nomination by the
supporting team.
Furthermore, due to the demanding job description and the need that all the
staff must entirely comprehend with their roles in TBI as well as the roles of
TBI as a technology-oriented incubator, all the staff must be admitted to an
extensive training for the implementation of technology business incubators.
Preferably, the course should include up to one month of additional
apprenticeship at a currently operating TBI, e.g., at Thailand Science ParkTechnology Business Incubator (TSP-I).

- Promotion and public relations.

Of particular interest in the public relation that has to be executed in the early
phase of implementation is the internal road show; i.e., the arranged meeting
with the faculty members and researchers throughout the university,
preferably on a school-by-school basis. This particular step intends to raise
the awareness, as well as to advertise the roles of TBI, among the
researchers who are considered one of TBIs main targeted customers.
During the meeting, the potential researchers who are detected with potential
products available to commercialize, will be approached and recruited.
Those researchers who are available as the technology experts and
consultants will be recruited during this event as well.
Simultaneously, the external public relation and promotion are to be
executed immediately, with a rigorous measure. The state of being urgent
and critical has been raised to clarify the position of TBI and differentiate its
roles among the existing BIs. Also, the university and TBI have to fortify the
existing communicative circuit with all the organization considered as stake
holders in the regions, including the Chambers of Commerce, the Federation
of Industry, the provincial governors, and all other government agencies who
are providing services related to the missions of TBI.

45

- Pre-operation
Whereas some of the aforementioned steps may take up to several months
to be carried out, some activities of TBI can actually be implemented sooner,
using the available resources subsidized by the Research and Development
Office. This includes the recruitment of the potential incubatees, the preincubation process, and the financial plan implementation.
Once recruited these customers can either enter the process of preincubation or match with an appropriate investors, depending on the
customers preferences. By either means, the prospect TBI tenant will be
developing his or her own business plan. The process could possibly take
up to a period of 3-6 months, during which time the renovation and all the
office equipments will be installed. One of TBI supporting team member will
be responsible as a business expert during the pre-operation process, until
the managing director and/or business expert are appointed and have his/her
training session completed. Once TBI is officially open, these pre-incubatees
are expectedly ready to move in, thus becoming the first anchor tenants for
the incubators. The Table 5 below shows the work plan of TBI scheduled for
the first 12 months of operation.

46

Table 5 Work plan for PSU TBI during the first 12 months

Activities

2005
Oct.

2006
Nov.

Dec.

Jan.

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

Jun.

Jul.

Aug.

Sep.

Endorsing the
official status of
TBI by the
University
Council
Space
renovation
Staff recruitment
Staff training
Public relation
implementation;
Internal
departments
Public relation
implementation;
External
departments
Recruitment of
potential
incubators and
pre-incubations
Grand opening
Official Operation

Conclusion
It is important to note that the task of setting up, planning and implementing the TBI is challenging yet
promising. This mission requires human skills in creative thinking, coordinating decision and policy
making to be put together with the great assistance of team-work and networking. It should be kept in
mind of the TBI team that our task is to inspire, encourage, support and guide the new entrepreneurs
to be able to achieve their goals with a better chance of success or less failure due to the preventable
causes.

The TBI will play an important role in increasing the research and development, the

technology commercialization as well as the SMEs and countrys competitiveness and economy.
Therefore, it is important to wisely plan for the setting up and to effectively implement and execute the
plan.

47

The Incubation Center of Software Park Thailand

Naowarat Ayawongs
Deputy Director, Software Park Thailand
In charge of Software Business Incubator 2003 - 2005

Introduction

Software Park Thailand, a division of National Science and Technology Development Agency,
has established Software Incubation Center or Software Business Incubator in 2002. With the
outstanding key performances and the initiation of the effective business incubation system,
Software Business Incubator of Software Park Thailand becomes a role model of business
incubators in Thailand.

The concept of the software incubation center has emerged as an essential component of the
infrastructure required for stimulating the growth of the software industry. It is an integral part
of Software Park Thailands mission to provide the most enabling environment and various
necessary functions for the start-up companies or individuals that have growth potential in
transforming the technology ideas of software development into commercial successes.

Mission

To provide the necessary support in turning the information technology concepts in software
development into business successes that contribute to the national economic growth.

Type of Incubations

In-wall incubation
Out- wall incubation

48

Target group

Focus on incubating start-ups and early-stage firms

Well established
firms
1-2 year

Turning ideas to start

Growing
ventures

1 year

the new business,

speed to growing ventures
and achieve to be well
established firms

Early-stage
& start-up
entrepreneurs

Period

Incubation Process

The Software Business Incubator of Software Park Thailand provides workspaces, an

encouraging and supportive environment to software developers at start-up and during the
early stages of their businesses to successfully transfer their concepts into reality.

The main functions that support in nurturing the incubatees can be the following:
office space and facilities; mentoring system; business training; business management;
information and data support; access to finance; marketing channel, exhibitions, business
match making; business networking; business counseling and legal services. The services are
provided with free of charge for a period of one year.

49

Post incubation support

Despite the policy of Software Park Thailand in providing only a one-year incubation for the
selected incubatees, the incubator will also engage in continuous support for the graduated
incubatees for another 1-2 years, both to gauge its success in achieving its mission, and to
ensure the graduates still be able to survive to reach their goals of business success.

50

Eligibility

Individuals and start-up companies that meet the following qualifications can apply for entry
into the program:
Must be Thai citizen
Have know-how in software development
Have been in business for not more than 2 years
Have a product or service conducive to the software market
Have a business plan
Have potential growth in revenue and employment
Participate in provided training , business networking and events
Commit to a one-year incubation program
Work in a cooperative environment with other entrepreneurs
Work well with incubator personnel
Able to continue and grow the business after incubation

Number of Participants

Maximum of 30 incubatees selected per annum

Key Performance (2002 2005)

Applicants

212

Selected Incubatees

98

Successful Incubatees

80

Software Products

125

Income Increased (mil.baht)

200

Employment Increased

350

Total Registered Investment (mil.baht)

111

Winning of Software Contest Awards

12

51

Technology Business Incubator

Thailand Science Park, NSTDA

Thailand Science Park Incubator or TSP-I is technology business incubator

type, was start up incubate activities in February 2007. Being an integral part
of Thailand Science Park (TSP), National Science and Technology
Development Agency (NSTDA), TSP-I is a significant function to assist
technology business start-ups in their early stage. Main missions of TSP-I
are to provide effective comprehensive technology business incubation
services, from pre-incubation to post incubation; to assist NSTDA spin-off
researchers in their business endeavor; and to promote investment and
funding of technology businesses. Focusing on high-technology and highmarket potential businesses related to Bio-technology, Metals technology,
ICT, and Nanotechnology. TSP-I will combine the strength of NSTDA in
research & development and over-10-years of experience of support to the
private sector, so as to offer excellent incubation services amongst leaders in
Southeast Asia.
Located in the northern outskirt of Bangkok, right in the center of Thailand,
TSP-I had started the operation in the Innovation Cluster 1 building with 770
sq.m. of space and 4 staff. Moreover, Innovation Cluster 2 building will be
partly finished in the year 2010 to accommodate about 1,500 sq.m. for TSP-I
usage.

52

TSP-I is determined to provide top-of-the-line incubation

services which are comprehensive from pre-incubation to
post-incubation. Our main missions are to;
1. Provide effective comprehensive technology business
incubation services.
2. Assist spin-off researchers in their business endeavor.
3. Promote investment and funding of technology
businesses.
Range

of

TSP-I

soft-services

covers

comprehensive

supports necessary for a technology venture-creation; from

pre-incubation

services

of

3-month

business

skill

development training to incubation services of consultants,

back office services, training, and market enabling service.
In addition, financial support services, such as prototype
grants and seed funds, are of particular important at which
will be arrange for TSP-I incubatees.
Set as a sub-division under NSTDA, TSP-I is governed by
TSP Board who have authorities in all significant decisionmaking matters.

Legal identity and power delegation are

implemented through NSTDA line of management. Despite

the fact that there are some risks in running an incubator,
TSP-I management team is confident of its plan and
determination. Three main issues are identified as success
factors of TSP-I; premium services in terms of process and
people, funding to the incubator and incubatees, and the high
caliber entrepreneurs as good input.
In terms of financial model, TSP-I is set as a cost-center
which means that it will takes on functions of a support unit.
Incubatees will receive subsidy support from TSP-I in both
the hard services (infrastructure) and the soft services.
With 20 incubatees by September 2007 that can
divided into 8 categories; software 8, electronic
3, biotechnology 2, material science 2, mechanic
2, embedded 1, food1 and automation 1.
53

Business Incubation In Thailand under

OSMEPs support: Lesson learned
Pranee Kiatsurayanont, Ph.D.

Introduction
The Office of SMEs Promotion (OSMEP) was a semi-government agency,
under the Ministry of Industry, created by , the
enterprises (SMEs)

Small and Medium

Promotion Act of 2000 and officially commenced its

operation in 2001. The mission of OSMEP is to promote the growth of small

and medium scale enterprises as to enhance national economic growth and
employment. Regarding that business incubation is

recognized as

powerful instrument for creating new entrepreneurs and sustain local

economics, the Committee on SMEs Promotion had assigned OSMEP to
set up a business incubator program for enterprise creation in 2003.
Business incubator program helps develop new entrepreneurs and supports
them to start up business and promote their ability to survive on a long-term
sustainable basis. A wide range of services can be offered within an
incubator, including management assistance, access to financing, business
or technical support services, and shared office services such as access to
equipment, flexible and affordable leases, and expandable space. Incubator
tenants benefit not only from business and technical assistance, but also
benefit from an official affiliation with the incubator and the networking and
commercial opportunities with other tenant firms.
In 2003 , OSMEP has joined Kasetsart University to set up the first business
incubator aiming to help develop new entrepreneurs and support them to
start up business. The business incubator target group includes small
entrepreneurs that want to start a new business and those who would like to
develop their products or ideas and commercialize them. As it was a new
concept which were not stratified before, the incubator did not provide full
services as a business incubator should undertaken. The tenants got only
with some specific services as they requested, such as information services,
training program, consulting services and research and development.

54

Development of Business Incubator

Considering that business incubation is a business support process that
should provide entrepreneurs with an array of targeted resources and
services other than training or conducting research for SMEs, OSMEP had
undertaken an initiative with 3 universities to set-up 3 small pilot projects for
business incubation. This time the incubators were asked to provide full
service for

entrepreneurs. Ranging from

low cost office space ( in-wall

incubator) together with public physical facilities such as business center,

telephone lines, shared meeting rooms etc. Apart from basic services in order
to reduce the cost of establishing a startup companies , such as training
program on tax or commerce , business incubator also provided some
specific services required by each entrepreneur. The capacity of each
incubators might be 10 to 15 participants.
The two Universities, King Mongkut University

and Kasetsart University

served as In-wall incubators which provided workspace, laboratory services,

consulting services and accelerates them to the market while Chulalongkorn
University served as an Out-wall incubator which provided mostly the same
services, consulting , training , marketing , except
experience with these three

workspace. Based on

pilot incubator projects , it was found that

entrepreneur could receive pro-active supports , and access to information

from in-wall incubators more than

out-wall incubator. In addition, most

entrepreneurs preferred in-wall incubators since they provided physical workspace at affordable price. Furthermore, tenants in the In-wall incubators
seemed to have closed cooperation with the management team than outwall incubator.
In addition, to learn the best practice from experienced business incubator ,
OSMEP has also joined with National Software Park to help smaller, weaker
software companies to set up on their own or to upgrade themselves in the
incubator under the National Software Park.
Rapid development of business incubator in 2006
With the government funding program for business incubation, OSMEP
expanded support for 16 business incubators in 2006. This time OSMEP
issued general requests for proposals from relevant applicants to set up
incubators. Applicants could be private institute, universities or associations.

55

Anyone

followed set requirements

could respond with a proposal. It

Incubator initiatives were then selected by a committee set up by OSMEP.

The selected incubators received a yearly grant, just about enough to pay
for the manager, one or two secretary and low cost facilities for incubator
management and incubator projects.
The operational procedure of business incubators
Entrepreneurs might apply either directly through incubators or OSMEP to
participate in incubator projects. The incubator managers

would

prior

consider the proposals then they take it to the screening committees at their
own incubators. Once the project idea was accepted, the incubator manager
and entrepreneur will develop a proposal that is submitted to the incubator
fund under OSMEP s administration. The fund from OSMEP and Incubators
provided up to

90 % of the total project budget; the rest is from the

entrepreneur as a commitment that they would not leave incubator in the

meantime. Ideally it was expected that incubator companies build a prototype
of their products or services in year one and find investor and exit out of
incubator during year two. The followings are important milestones for a
successful business incubator operation:
- Forming a strong managing board with an advisory structure and
enabling them to observe incubator operations;
- Experienced managers and personnel for the incubator;
- Careful selection, training at home and abroad ( if possible), and
proper remuneration of the manager and team;
- Screening of technical, business and market potential of tenants;
- Involvement of relevant departments in the universities as well as
private sector, through subcontracting and other arrangements;
- Exchange of experiences through national incubators association
which will be established by OSMEP and CHE and NSTDA.
The OSMEP

would not be involved in the creation or day to day

management of business incubators, but the incubators had to report their

progress every 3 months. Furthermore, OSMEP organized workshops with
interested stakeholders to give training

to managers

experiences about successful business incubators.

56

and

exchanged

In summary there are 16 business incubators subsequently being supported

by OSMEP in 2006. This could be divided into several categories according
to the nature of the parent organization.

Some of these were

national

universities such as Chulalongkorn University, Kasetsart University, Kings

Mongkut University, whilch
universities. There have also

others have been established by private

been 3 incubators established by

private

institutions. These include one incubator set up by Thai Commerce

association, 2 incubators established by Gems Institute . The incubation
center

established

by National Software Park

has also been

partly

supported by OSMEP.
It was expected that, aside from the initial operating capital provided by
OSMEP, business incubators should be financially self-sufficient within three
to five years.
Business Incubator Network
With the rapid development of business incubators in Thailand during 20052006, the three agencies concerned namely, OSMEP , CHE and NSTDA
had signed an agreement on establishment of business incubator network
called Thai BISPA as a forum among business incubators and science &
technology parks in November 2005. Through this forum, it was expected to
bring the following advantages to improve the service quality for business
incubator;
-

The network could improve its management and service capability

through experiences exchange.

The network could arrange training course for members

thus

reduce the cost of incubators services.

-

The network could act as a contacting point with

internal and

international partners, for example it could attract the venture capital

from society through network.

Cooperation with Association of Industry

Considering that Association of Industry could assist as the supervisory and
management body of incubators, OSMEP in co-operation with Association of
Industry had set up 5 incubators in 5 regions in 2007 as follows:

57

- Ratchpat Kampangpetch University

in Tak province set up a

business incubator to help start up companies (gems & jewelry

sector ) in Northern region.
- Ratchpat Chaiyapoom University in Chaiyapoom province set up a
business incubator to help start up companies (textile sector ) in
North - eastern region.
- Phra Jom Klao technology pranakorn nue University in Bangkok ,
represent central region, set up a business incubator to help start
up companies in textile and ceramic and automobile.
- Boorapa University in

Chantaburi province et up a business

incubator to help start up companies (gems & jewelry sector ) in

Eastern region.
- Walailuk University in Southern part focus in wood sector.

Lesson learned and Recommendation

It is too early to evaluate the incubator performance in term of their success
at this time, since business development and business incubation are long
term initiatives where impacts are achieved over time, typically 10 years or
more. However, some obstacles can be identified as follow;
1. At present, incubators are not sponsored only by OSMEP, the
Commission of Higher Education

under Ministry of Education are also

alternative funding agency for universities to set up business incubators.

Some incubators got supports from two agencies which means it is more
difficult to monitor. There should be some consideration on how they can
effectively integrate the administration , also making the implementation of
government policy much more efficient.
2. Since no incubator has the resources to do it all , it must create strong
partnerships and alliances to truly add value. The interaction between
business incubators needs to be strengthened, with the provision of
information by government, may be through the business incubation
association, helping to encourage exchange, brainstorming and greater
creativity, thus improving the efficiency of incubators is possible.
3. Some incubators had not enough capability to provide all necessary
services for their tenants companies, Incubation process is a key to bring
58

tenants success. A well-developed customer base, appropriate technology

and skilled management team should be taken into consideration as well as
selection process.
4. Effective incubators need strong support from government, the subsidies
should be viewed

as a form of continuing basis during the development

phase.
5. Sometime tenants came with ideas which need to be proven in a pilot
scale

before running business. It is important to have some amount of

money called start up fund which could be used to provide financing

service for the start- up companies in the incubator.
6. Monitoring the use of government budget and benchmarking program to
enhance performance is needed.

So far , OSMEP has supported a total of 22 incubator centers. The majority

(about 80% ) is affiliated to universities institutions. Half of the client
businesses are in agro-industry. Presently there are about 200 tenant
companies in these incubators. In the future, OSMEP will be continuing to
encourage public and private institutes to participate in the establishment of
new incubators, in line with the needs of local industrial development, to
develop new economic opportunities.

59

Introduction to University Business Incubator Management

Assistant Professor Kamron Pitak
Director of Prince of Songkla University Business Incubation Center

Introduction

The establishment of University Business Incubators (UBIs) in Thailand

during 2005-2007 is the beginning of awareness and understanding of
universities role in the socio-economic development of the nation-beside
teaching, research, academic services and supporting cultures. Business
incubation is the extension of all those key functions of university i.e.
commercialization of research and innovation, entrepreneurial development
of university alumni as well as other new entrepreneurs in the region.
Previously, the concepts of entrepreneurship and research commercialization
were

not

very

well

taken

among

Thai

universities

due

to

the

misunderstanding and lack of information. The establishment of UBI,

therefore, significantly and effectively promotes and facilitates these two
processes during the recently years. With the initiation of the Commission on
Higher Education (CHE), many public universities have begun to setup the
UBI with the better understanding and clearer missions in order to link
between existing resources and organizations within the university and the
UBI.

During the past 3 years, CHE has funded at least 45 UBIs in the

universities throughout the country which can be classified into 5 groups

according to the type, level and focuses of universities as shown below;
Group 1: UBIs of well established and comprehensive public universities
Group 2: UBIs of relatively new and comprehensive public universities
Group 3: UBIs of Ratjabhat Universities which were once teaching colleges
Group 4: UBIs of Ratchamangkala University of Technology
Group 5: UBIs of private universities
This chapter, however, will cover the overview of the development, general
administration and business incubation process as well as the future
development of UBIs in Thailand.

60

Why UBI?
This question was and has been asked many times both within the university
and in the society. The answer is certainly not only because of the initiation
and financial support from CHE but also the following reasons;
1.

The lack of research commercialization within the university

2.

The low entrepreneurial spirit of students and alumni

3.

The missing link between new business and technology

However, these are not the separate causes and effects but rather related to
one another as shown in figure 1.

Research
In University

New
entrepreneur

Incubator

Business

Students and
alumni
Figure 1 Relation in Business Incubation Process

Definition of UBI
UBI is an office or unit which provides services, supports, guidance as well as promotion of new
business based on technology, innovation, creation or knowledge. Therefore, UBI itself does not run
the business on behalf of the entrepreneurs or incubates as previously understood by many people.

61

Missions of UBI
A complete UBI should be able to link technology and intellectual property
created by students, researchers and staffs, with business incubation
process through the proper means such as licensing or joint venture.
Therefore, UBI does not or should not focus only on business incubation but
also coordination with other related organization or departments i.e.
Research and Development Office, Technology Licensing Office, etc.
UBI Structure
There are a few types of UBI structure depending on the policy and
management of each university. However, the suitable structure of UBI
should at least have the following characteristics;
- Clear organization structure and formally established under the
university administration
- Independent both structurally and financially which means the UBI
might consider having its
own guidelines, practices, rules and regulations.
Direction of UBI
In order to support new business, UBI should be unique, independent and
capable of linking research and business without a complete separation from
university. UBI must also focus on knowledge or technology based business
in order to support qualified students and staffs to become entrepreneurs. It
is also important to note that the mission of UBI should align with the strength
and opportunity of the region and country in order to maintain sustainability of
both incubation center and the new businesses.
UBI administrations
UBI administrations are the key elements for the success of UBI. In general,
the UBI administrators or management teams should be creative yet practical
and knowledgeable about business, cultures and management. It is highly
essential that the UBI administrators must be able to coordinate very well
among the university researchers, faculty members and students. From the
authors first handed experience, it was found that UBI administrators who
were brought in from outside of the universitys environment were less likely
to succeed due to the failure in adaptation to the university culture and
environment which eventually led to the frustration and disappointment for
62

both the customers and the university. Meanwhile the current alternative to
employ the faculty members as the part-time administrators could also cause
different problems regarding the dedication and availability.]
Goals and Performance Indicators of UBI
The goals and performance indicators of UBI should basically relate to the
objectives for examples;
- Number of students and staffs participated in activities held by UBI
- Number of start-up company within or associated with UBI
- Number of spin-off company
- Number of technology licensed or commercialized
- Number of walk-in customers for business incubation and intellectual
property services
Key Success Factors for UBI
Basically, most new entrepreneurs face with the problems in marketing and
investment hich differ from the needs of UBI. Therefore, the key success
factors of UBI include the critical mass of research and innovation both within
and

outside

the

university,

policy

and

supports

from

university

administrations and, last but not least, the management.

Basic Services Provided by UBI
For business incubation, the services and facilities needed are the following;
Office space for incubator and incubate
1.

Infrastructures
a. Telephone & Fax
b. Meeting room
c.

Library

d. Internet
2.

Business consultation
a. Entrepreneurship development
b. Business plan
c.

Business development

d. Business matching
e. Access to finance and funding

63

3. Other consultation
a. Industrial management
b. Human resources development
c.

Product development

d. Marketing
e. Finance and Accounting
f.

Technology development

4. Liaison for activities

5. Entrepreneurial development
a. Entrepreneurial club setting up
b. Business plan competition
6. Supports for setting up business as well as intellectual Property.
7. Other related services depending on the need and availability of our
children
a. Innovation fair
b. Start-up fund
c.

Venture capital

8. IP services
a. Training
i.

IP management

ii.

IP Law

iii.

Patent drafting and filing

iv.

IP valuation

b. Protection and management

i.

Patent database searching and mapping

ii.

Patent examination

iii.

Patent filing

iv.

Licensing and other forms of technology transfer

Important Activities of UBI

In order to successfully set up and operate UBI, the following activities are
strongly recommended;
1.

Feasibility of UBI which should include SWOT analysis, demand and

supply side analyses

64

2.

Business plan development

3.

Marketing of UBI

4.

Recruitment and screening of incubatees

5.

Incubation

Management of UBI
It is suggested that the successful UBI is the outcome of the good
management which includes effective business plan execution, complete
management either in the form of network or alliances, sustainability and
customers satisfaction. It is also important to note that UBI should have both
short and long-term strategic plans along with the suitable monitoring and
evaluation systems.
Further Development of UBI
Regardless of the differences in competency and resources of university, UBI
should set a clear policy about the management of UBI, the support from
university and other related organization i.e. CHE and the human resources
development including both the management and staff of UBI and
entrepreneurs.

65

Mentoring System of New University Business Incubator

Assoc.Prof.Supachai Pathumnakul, Ph.D.
Technology Business Incubator of Khon Kaen University
Suphat Champatong
Commission on Higher Education

1.

History of UBI Mentoring System

As the Commission of Higher Education (CHE) has launched the University

Business Incubator (UBI) in Thailand in 2005, there are more than 25 UBIs
among Thai universities which were established with different understanding,
expectation and competency. Because of the novelty of the business
incubation issue in Thailand, only a few universities have had experienced or
correct understanding about what the business incubator is or does. Most of
them, on the other hand, did not know what exactly to be done because of
the misunderstanding and confusions. Therefore, it can be said that CHE was
spending a lot of its budget on building up awareness and understanding
about university business incubation system i.e. the study tour of other BIs in
the countries where business incubation and entrepreneurship are either
successful or the key element of entrepreneurship support. Regardless of
the great efforts of CHE, it should be said that the critical lack of human
resources

in

both

the

management

of

business

incubator

and

entrepreneurship was the major obstacle in operating business incubation

center among Thai universities. The effective method of problem solving and
obstacle overcoming was the sharing of experiences and lesson learned
among the managers and staffs of UBIs. It is important to note that this is
rather an unofficial networking team organized by the group of UBIs manager
and staffs in order to exchange, share and discuss on various topics related
to UBIs i.e. administration, strategies as well as the do and dont. This
network in the second year of operation had led to the effectively and
practically useful system of mentoring for the newly set up UBIs in the last
two years in order to make sure they can not only survive but also effectively
operate the full scale UBIs.
Originally, there were only 4 BIS set up in the universities, with the assistance
and collaboration of National Science and Technology Development Agency
(NASTDA) and the strong support from InWent, Germany. These include
Chiangmai University Business Incubator, Khon Khan University Business
Incubator, Prince of Songkla University Business Incubation Center which
66

later were assigned as the mentors for all the BIs based on geographical
locations and so fourth.
2

Management of UBI Mentoring System

The management system of UBI, according to CHEs recommendation,

should include the key important elements i.e. CHEs policy and
management, the mentoring UBI, and newly set up BIs. The detail for each
element will be described as the following:
Roles and Functions of CHE on business incubators
- Select potential new UBI candidates
- Setup the mentors in each region where the new UBIs are
located
- Assign the mentors
- Join other UBI mentors from all the regions in creating action
plan for UBI mentoring system for 1 year.
- Provide financial support for mentors
- Evaluate the mentors performance
- Co-evaluate the new UBIS with mentors
- Coordinate and support all UBIss activities related to mentoring
program
Roles of Mentor
- Join with CHE for creating action plan for UBI mentoring system
for 1 year.
- Train manager and staffs of new UBIs
- Provide consultations and advices to new UBIs
- Co-evaluate the new UBIS with CHE
Role of new UBI
- Participate in mentoring program and all other activities related
to business incubation specified by CHE and mentors
- Join with CHE for mentors evaluation
3.

Activities in UBI Mentoring Program

In order to assist new UBI to meet with their objectives, CHE and mentors
have determined and planned the key activities essential for the establishing
and operating UBI, which can be divided into 2 stages,

67

3.1

Consultation on UBI establishement

At the beginning of each UBI establishment, CHE and mentor
will assist with the setting up of UBI by emphasizing on the
structuring organization and management of UBI in order to
support and run the business incubation program. This activity
will last for no more than 3 months. The details of each activity
are as the following;
- Meeting between CHE and mentor in order to specify the
action plan of mentor, the evaluation program and assign the
mentor.
- Disseminate the information to administration of university
which will be supported for UBI establishment. This is an
important step for UBI management which is expected to
reduce and minimize the misconception of university
administration on UBIs roles and functions.
- Orientation for new UBI manager and staffs
- Consultation for new UBI manager and staffs on business plan
development
- Consultation for new UBI on Organization and regulation of UBI
- Consultation for new UBI on how to market UBI
- Study tour of other UBIs

3.2 Consultation of Business Incubation

Following the first step, the CHE and mentors will provide new
UBIs with the following information and activities;
- Consultation on how to select and screen incubates
- Consultation on how to provide business consulting for incubates

4.

Key Performance Indicators for UBI Mentoring Program

The concept to measure success of the UBI mentoring program is to set up

and evaluate the KPIs of the program based on the success of newly
established UBIs i.e. the fulfillment of objectives and goals, the capability of

68

setting up and incubate the startups and etc. The evaluation is set to be done
by CHE and mentor in every 4 months for 1 year.
4.1 Evaluation by mentor
This will include the periodical on-site visit of mentor in order to inspect the
operation of new UBI using the action plan determined earlier by the CHE
and mentor.
4.2 Evaluation by CHE
Before the end of the first year, CHE will evaluate new UBI based on the
th

progress report provided by UBI at the 6 month of operation compared with

the KPIs committed. Additionally, CHE will also visit new UBI during the last
2 month in the first year of operation in order to evaluate both UBI and
mentoring program

Conclusion
UBI mentoring program, initiated by CHE in 2006, was meant to support and
assist newly set-up UBIs sponsored by CHE to achieve their goals and to
strengthen their capacities in business incubation system. The mentors were
selected based on their performance and geographical location in order to
maximize the benefit of the new UBI and create the network of business
incubators. The mentoring program is also aimed to provide on only the plan
and guidelines to set up the UBI but also the how to successfully operate
the UBI once set up.
It can be concluded that the mentoring program has so far empowered and
increased the chance of becoming successful for newly set-up UBIs during
the its first year.

69

Development of UBI and Viable Management System

(Chulalongkorn University)
Assoc.Prof. Usanee Yodyingyuad, Ph.D

As a premier and comprehensive university, Chulalongkorn University had

long been well aware of the importance of the management of its intellectual
property. In 1995, with the approval of the University Council, Chulalongkorn
University Intellectual Property Foundation (CUIPIF) was established, with a
clear mandate to manage all IPs generated by the Universitys researchers
and faculty members.

Later that year, CUIPIF set up a functional unit,

Chulalongkorn University Intellectual Property Institute (CUIPI), to fulfil its

objective of promoting and supporting transfer of university research results
and innovations, for the benefit of the public, the University and inventors,
through commercialization of its intellectual property.
Technically, CUIPI has been a technology transfer office, generating
technology and business incubation, as well as technology licensing since
2002. Our policy is to license out our technologies for public use wherever
possible. Meanwhile, as another alternative for technology transfer, start-up
companies are also encouraged whenever the environment is feasible.
We serve as both in-wall and out-wall incubator, incubating both technologybased businesses that use Chulalongkorn University technology and those
run by CU personnel or alumni. Our service comprises:
- provision of office space, fully equipped with state-of-the-art
facilities and secretarial service, etc.;
- comprehensive advice and consultancies in business as much as
in technology;
- access to specialists advice from the Faculty of Law, the Faculty of
Commerce and Accountancy, the Faculty of Architecture, the
Faculty of Science, the Faculty of Engineering, the Faculty of Arts,
CU Radio Station and other specialized institutes;
- access to the universitys resources such as the library, academic
services, sport facilities, etc.

70

All these are carried out by means of outsourcing,

networking and/or

partnering.
Our way of incubation
In our perception, in the transfer of technology, licensing and incubation are
of the same track. So we go through the following process:
1. Selection of potential research results
We work hand in hand with the Universitys research division in scouting for
potential research results and innovations of CU faculty, prioritizing them
according to our targeted interests and making a series of visits.
With permission of the Dean or Director, we inform target departments,
faculties, research institutes, research units, and centers of excellence in
advance of our visit. The purposes of our visits are:
-

to give introductory lectures on IP and its crucial role in enhancing

the

countrys competitiveness;
-

to introduce our Institute, its mission, services, personnel, and what we

can offer them;

to invite those who are interested to give us information regarding their

technologies or inventions by filling our invention-disclosure forms; and

to introduce them to our staffs who will be working with them, and
assure them that their research results will not be disclosed, since our
staffs have signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with us.

We also make short visits to various research labs of interest, and make
further appointments to meet to discuss their research results.
2. Technology analysis and IP protection
As soon as researchers disclose their research results, our team of
technologists, business developers and market analysts will roughly analyze
the potentiality of the technology in terms of novelty, applicability and
commercial value. If they find it reasonably strong, then with the approval of
the researchers, they will move on with IP protection that is relevant to the
particular technology or invention.

71

3. Management of research results

Although research results chosen are in various stages ranging from concept
to product, they share one common feature, that is, they are not yet ready for
industrial use. Nevertheless, some companies that have their own research
and development unit may want to license out and develop their technology
further to fit their purpose. Some may be happier to do collaborative research
or contract research with the university with option to license. In either case,
the terms of agreement will be negotiated by our technology licensing team.
The incubator will take care of collaborative or contract research by
coordinating and facilitating researchers, companies or governmental
agencies such as the Thailand Research Fund, (TRF) or the Agricultural
Research Development Agency (ARDA), to implement their research plans
as agreed (according to the agreement). Technology incubation may end in
licensing out technologies to companies. In that case, deals will be
negotiated by our technology licensing team. However, if the researchers
prefer to establish their business themselves, then the incubator will give
them suggestions to:
-

form a management team consisting of a manager who has experience

in business and marketing, and another person, preferably one of the
researcher team of that technology, who understands the technology
well;

acquire business knowledge in that particular field through the incubator

service; and

write up business models under the guidance of experts provided.

In the meantime, incubator personnel will do a market analysis for the

technology, finding a manufacturer or distributor according to the incubatees
need. (It is university policy not to produce commercial products in the
university.) The business model is constantly modified with information
gathered by the management team and incubator personnel until it is
accepted by the expert as a good business plan to run the company, while
funds are raised.

72

The incubator will help to license out technology from the university by giving
assistance in registering the company and providing 6 months rental-free
office if needed.

During the incubation period (out-wall or in-wall), the incubator provides

consultancies needed in running the company, industrial connections and
public relations (on request). Expenditures arising from the services are
shared by the company and the incubator at a rate defined by the incubator
committee. The company has to present a semi-annual report and annual
report to the incubator committee.
Another way of incubation
In addition to the above mentioned ways of incubation, the CUIPIF has gone
a little bit further. Chulalongkorn University personnel of various sciencebased faculties have been producing products that are ready for the market.
Unfortunately most of them are products for niche markets or small market
shares, and therefore cannot survive market feasibility. So we established a
trading company that acts as an incubator, licensing out these technologies,
developing products, helping with the pricing, marketing, finding appropriate
manufacturers and distributors, monitoring, and keeping records of sales
revenue. If any technology proves to survive business feasibility, the
technology transfer team will help to license it out.

If any product, or

technology, cannot survive on its own, we group it with others, then find them
a management team, set up a company and incubate it until it is ready to
spin off.
At present our trading company already has more than 10 products on sale,
and is going quite well so far. We expect to be able to set up 3 more strong
companies in the next few years.
Our accomplishments to date
The policy of our incubator is to support businesses that use Chulalongkorn
Universitys technologies. So it is inevitable that we have to start with
technologies that we have, and groom them until they are ready to be
licensed out, either to existing companies or to start-up companies which will
be further incubated in our incubator until they are strong enough to be on
73

their own. Normally it takes at least 4-5 years from research result to a
strong spin-off company.
Our accomplishments are:
- Out of 3 companies, two spun off in June 2007.
- Three companies are on the way to be set up in late 2007 or
early 2008.
- A few more such companies are to be established in the course of
the next few years.
- 40 technologies are being incubated at different stages of the
process.
- 10 products are being on sale by our newly established trading
company.
The challenges facing us
The challenges facing us are common among practicing university incubators
in Thailand. They are: lack of consistent support from the government and
the private sector, and difficulty in developing and retaining IP personnel.
Although ideally incubators should be self-sustained, in practice, we are
confronted with various kinds of challenges ranging from ignorance of the
key players in this new approach to do business, to consistent supports. We
may need at least 4-5 years to go before the incubator can stand on its own
feet.
Additionally, human resource development in this particular field is necessary
and time consuming. The career paths for them are not evident, so personnel
turn-over rate is high, which obstructs the whole operation.

Key Success Factors

To sum up, the key success factors for incubators viable management
systems are:
1. support and understanding from university administrators, the
university president in particular,

74

2.

strong relationship between the universitys research division and the

incubator,

3.

consistent financial support from the government for 4-5 years (at least
to cover the standing expenses),

4.

incubation and licensing to be operated by the same unit, in order to

minimize the cost incurred from personnel expenditures, and, finally

5.

Success case is vital in acquiring incubatees

75

Commercialization of innovation:
A case study of Mahidol University
Pimprapai Theeracheep and Amaret Bhumirattana*

Introduction
Mahidol University has positioned herself as a research university,
therefore numerous efforts have been placed

forward to stimulate

researches as well as research outputs. In order to stimulate research

activities, large proportion of budget has been allocated as research
grants and also a number of measures have been put forward to
stimulate research activities and outputs.
the

large

number

of

research

For example the creation of

centers

of

excellence

by

inviting

researchers from various disciplines to come to work together as a

research team to work on common research problem using various
disciplines and various research approaches.
been well integrated into research activity.
the

largest

numbers

of

doctoral

Graduated program has

Mahidol University has one of

degree

students

in

the

Grants and fellowships have been allocated to promote research.

country.
Through

these means, Mahidol University has visualized large increase in quality

research publications during the past decade.
Furthermore

during

the

past

few

years

Mahidol

University

has

recognized the value of intellectual property as one of the research

outputs instead of relying only on research publications, President
Pornchai Matangkasombut in 2000 has assigned the task to manage
intellectual

property

matters

to

Technological Service Center (MUAT).

Mahidol

University

Applied

and

MUAT is responsible to undertake

the overall management of Intellectual Property Rights as well as other

aspects related to intellectual property.
the increase in the number of

As a result, one can witness

the patent applications and patent

granted during the last few years as detailed in Table 1

Applied and Technological Service Center, Mahidol University

2nd floor office of The President
999 Phuttamonthon 4 Road, Salaya, Nakhon Pathom 73170, Thailand
* Dept of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University,
Rama VI Rd, Bangkok 10400, Thailand

76

Table 1

Number of Publication and Patent

from 1999-2007

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007
9m

308

335

366

385

504

527

599

N/A**

N/A**

11

14

33

18

30

21

10

24

6,897

7,746

7,994

7,726

8,574

8,942

10,885

9,821

No. of Thai Granted

Patent

418

635

797

867

505

568

No. of Patent
Application in USA

468

473

390

315

152

64

No. of MU Patent
Application in USA
and others

No. of MU
Publication*
No. of MU Patent/
Petty Patent
Application
No. of MU granted
Patent and Petty
Patent
No. of Patent
Application in
Thailand ***

* Thai Research Publications in ISI Databases

** N/A is not available
*** IP Databases, from Thailand IPR Service Center, Department of Intellectual Property,
Mahidol University Applied and Technological Service Center (MUAT) as an Intellectual
Property Management Center.
After formulating the guidelines in managing intellectual properties in 2000 MUAT created a group
of 5 persons to take charge of overall management aspects dealing with Intellectual Property
Rights.

The core activities include organizing of lectures and symposia to stimulate staff and

researcher of Mahidol University to know the importance of Intellectual Property Rights.

Lecture

series provided to researcher include topics related to general knowledge of intellectual property,
technology licensing procedure as well as entrepreneurship development program.

Furthermore

this office advices researcher on all aspects of IPR related matters such as writing claim ,
contacting to legal body and others.
MUAT is performing this function by accepting the application from researcher and setting up a
committee to evaluate the application whether the application is valid for submission for
approval of Intellectual Property Office either in Thailand or some selected countries or
worldwide.

Subsequently, if the application is approved by the committee, MUAT prepares

document and submits to the appropriated government agency.

responsible with the task to utilize these patents.

the

At the same time MUAT also

All of the expenses involves on these

management processes starting from receiving original application to the final stage of being
77

granted a patent are borne solely by MUAT.

The researcher does not have to be responsible

for any expenses regarding writing or submitting the patent.

The procedure undertaken by MUAT

in intellectual property management is outline in Figure 1. As clearly evident from data

on Table 1, the scheme as outline in fig. 1 does indeed stimulate university staff to conduct
research leading to patent.

If the patent can be licensed and generated income, Mahidol

University has guideline for distribution of income as follows.

Fifty percent of the net income

will be allocated to the inventor, thirty percents to the University, ten percents to the faculty
and ten percents to the department affiliated to the inventor.

When the patent is being

licensed, MUAT usually looks for financial returns such as disclosure fee, royalty fee,
consultancy fee and/or research and development fund.
Fig 1 Outline of procedure for evaluation of patent application
Researcher submits
application details to MUAT

MUAT search for the worldwide patent

database for novel aspect of patent

MUAT sets up committees to

evaluated the invention

The committee approves

to apply Patent

MUAT prepare document for

applying the Patent.
(writing claim, etc.)

Committee
Reject

Researcher may submit the

application to IPO by himself

Suggest to modify the

invention

Researcher perform
more work

Mahidol University Applied and Technological Service Center (MUAT) and her roles as a
business incubator.
Beside taking care of all matters related to intellectual properties,

MUAT also acts as one

of the two business arms of Mahidol University. The other business arm is named Stang Holding
Company Limited.

which was recently set up by Mahidol University in 2004.

In the capacity as

a unit to strengthen the commercial usage of products or services created through research
at Mahidol University, MUAT plays role as a business incubator unit.
78

In a typical procedure, MUAT usually evaluates the intellectual

properties whether in a form of patent, know how or trade
secret submitted to her office by researchers and if the IPs do
have potential for commercialization, the arrangement are usually
taken

to

search

commercialization

for
of

the

potential

partners

products.

for

The first

possible
option

for

commercialization of IP is usually taken in the form of technology

licensing.

In this regard, MUAT will act as a mediator between

potential investor and our researchers. The financial returns from

successful licensing of a particular technology are usually in
the form of disclosure agreement, royalty, consultancy and/or
future research funding.

However, at times the products or

services developed by researcher needed to be produced at

the pilot scale level, some products may need to be proven at
a field or clinical trial levels or a market trial and other
products may need to be undertaken an economic feasibility
study or a market feasibility study.

In order to facilitate these

various options, MUAT has set up a unit comprised of 4

persons to take care of Mahidol University Business Incubator
(MUBI).

At present there are 89 projects of which 50 are

being service-type projects, and 49 are product-type project.

These projects are allowed to be operated under the frame
work of MUAT for a certain period of time.
under

the

guideline

appropriate

investor

responsible

for

of
for

getting

MUBI,

the

project

commercialization.
permission

During the period

from

will

search

MUAT
the

will

for
be

administration

committee and the executive committee of MUAT to endorse

the projects after which the projects will be undertaken under
the umbrella of MUAT for the various period depending on the
nature of project.

During the period that the projects are operated

under MUBI, MUAT is responsible for the good governance of the

projects by overseeing the financial and provide other form of
managements.

If some of these projects are relevant and

suitable, they will be promoted to full commercialization either

through

technology

licensing,

or

become

start-up/spin-off

companies. Ideally, these projects should be with MUBI for only

a limited period of time. However, the present mechanism does

79

not fully facilitate technology licensing and start-up/ spin-off companies.

Some of these projects have been with MUBI for an extended
period of time.
Another measure that MUAT uses to promote commercialization of
the projects under MUBI is the creation of Investor Forum to
invite potential investors either in the form of existing companies or
venture capitals to meet with the researchers.
Commercialization of innovation through creation of spin - off
company by MUAT and STANG holding company.
The tasks of technology licensing as well as creation of

spin off

company from innovation from staff of Mahidol University also lies

within the guideline of MUAT.
for

full

commercialization,

When a project has good potential

MUAT

with

the

assistance of Stang

Holding Co.,Ltd. Will carry out a business feasibility study and search
for potential investor.

In most cases, Stang Holding Company will

co-invested with other investor(s) at not

total investment.
years

ago,

more than 15% of the

Stang Holding Company has been set up three

jointly

invested

by

Mahidol

University,

Small

and

Medium Enterprise Bank, and the National Innovation Agency.

Stang Holding Company acts as an investment partner for Mahidol
University and helps to invest in the products that need to be
commercialized.

In principle, regarding any products or processes

that resulted from researches by Mahidol University that can be

technology licensed, the first priority is to do technology licensing,
for those products that are rather too new and/or as does have
potential to be invested, then the avenue for start-up/spin-off
becomes an option.

Presently, Mahidol University has spin off 5

companies during the past two years and there are potential for 10
more

companies

in

the

next 2 years.

The

scheme

for

commercialization of Intellectual Property undertaken by MUAT is

outlined in Figure 2.

80

Spin off
company

Investment

Business
Plan

Incubator /
Venture Capital

Research and
Development
Fund

MUBI

Limited
Market
Trial

Proof of
Concept

STANG

Technology
Licensing
IP (Patent)
Publication

Research
Fund

Research

Development

Prototype

Feasibility
Study

Commercialization

Applied and Technological Service Center

Stang Holding Company Limilted

Fig.2

In conclusion, Mahidol University sees the value of Commercialization of Innovation.

The

University puts in place various mechanisms that help to stimulate the creation of innovation
through research and education.

In the near future, it is hoped that the income generated

through licensing of new technology and through the return on investment in start-up/spin-off
companies will play a significant role in the future development of

the University.

It is

believed that to be an effective research university, the commercialization of innovation through

various mechanisms outlined above must be taking care of very effectively.

Mahidol

University should try to act as a vehicle to bring an innovative Thai society through research
and education.

81

Lesson Learned
by
Silpakorn University Business Incubator
Assoc.Prof. Supanee Chayabutra, Ph.D.

Part 1 Operation Profile

1.

Background

Silpakorn University Business Incubator (SUBI) is one of the 24

University Business Incubators established in late 2004 under the
support of the Office of Commission on Higher Education (CHE). It is
aimed to promote the wider use of university research products and
intellectual properties as well as to increase the number of new
entrepreneurs from university staff and students. The policy of SUBI
is also extended to be the center of creative and tourism business so
that all members could come to search information, exchange their
experiences, find new partners, link up network, etc. The policy and
direction of SUBI are as follows:
Vision:

To be the top in creative and tourism business incubator.

Missions:

To stimulate and nurture new entrepreneurs.

To integrate the university potentials and move up the value

chains.

To develop the university business incubator to

learning organization.

become

Objectives:

82

To promote university staff, students and alumni to become new

entrepreneurs.

To select, develop and commercialize university research

products and intellectual properties.

To incubate new entrepreneurs to be sustainable business

owners.

To promote and support value chain creation in related areas.

2.

Focus Area

As Silpakorn University has been engaging in multidisciplinary areas

ranging from Art & Design, Social Science & Humanity and Science
& Applied Science, the focus areas in SUBI are categorized in two
main groups of incubates; creativity & tourism and science &
technology. Two different programs are designed to suit different
aspects of the incubatees.
2.1 The Creativity & Tourism Group
Due to the strength of Silpakorn University in art and design, the
incubatees in the creative & tourism group are very promising
participants in SUBI. The most popular businesses are design,
advertising & publishing, music, animation, performing art and
tourism. These types of business are of great importance in the
service sector which has been creating a significant income to
Thailand for decades.

According to the Office of the National

Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) and the Bank of

Thailand, the incomes of Thailand during the year 1990-2006 from
the service, industrial and agricultural sectors were 51.8-58.6 %,
29.2-39.3 % and 8.9-12.1 % respectively. This information indicates
the real potential and strength of Thailand in terms of service and
tourism. SUBI has considered the talent and skill of service,
especially the so-called Thai hospitality, to be a social capital that
can help the country to compete with the world market in several
areas. With regard to this potential and in combination with the
academic creative courses at Silpakorn University, it is anticipated to
create entrepreneurs of high competency in the creative and tourism
group through SUBI.
2.2

The Science & Technology Group

Silpakorn University has been out standing in art and culture for over
60 years. However, in the last 30 years the university has been
developing towards a comprehensive university. As a result, young
faculties such as Science, Pharmacy, Engineering and Industrial
Technology and Animal Science and Agriculture Technology were
established. These faculties have produced a significant number of
research products and intellectual properties, some have been
licensed, some have a high potential to be commercialized and some
83

are in the process of development for industrial scale. These

products have been developed in conjunction with the strength of art
and design. It is a strong intention to integrate the strength of art &
design to create added value to the products of science & technology
via SUBI.
3.

Incubation Programs

SUBI incubation programs are divided subject to the professional

orientation of incubatees into 2 programs, value-added design &
tourism incubation (Hi touch) and technology-based incubation (Hi
tech) programs.

3.1

Value-added Design & Tourism Incubation (Hi touch)

Program

For incubatees in the areas of art, crafts, design,

fashion,

advertising,

publishing,

animation,

music,

performing art and tourism.

3.2

The incubation period will not exceed 3 years.

Not-for-profit.

Technology-Based Incubation (Hi tech) Program

For incubatees in the areas of science and technology

who use the university research products and intellectual
properties to produce commercial products.

The incubation period will not exceed 5 years.

Not-for-profit.

4. Benefits and Support

All incubatees in SUBI are provided with the following support and
facilities:
4.1

Office Premises and Business Center Service

Provision of ready-to-use offices at SUBI throughout the

program with up to 1 year rent-free.

Rent will be a progressing rate in the next year.

Office facilities e.g. telephones, computers, internet

service, printers and man power are at a negotiable rate.

84

4.2

4.3

4.4

5.

Marketing and Promotion Assistance

Launching exhibitions.

Access to fairs and exhibitions.

Marketing through IT Platform.

Media interviews.

Product seminars.

Training and Consultancy Program

Access to short course trainings.

Consultancies by professionals.

Mentor-ships program.

Access to university facilities e.g. library and internet.

Intellectual Properties (IP) Assistance

IP protection.

IP evaluation.

IP management

Licensing and commercialization.

Admission Criteria

Candidates must be members of Silpakorn University or

residents in Bangkok and the Low-central part of Thailand.

Candidates must show a strong intention to become new

entrepreneurs.

Products and production processes are environmentally and

socially friendly.

6.

Products must be marketable.

Employment of at least 2 employees in Thailand.

Milestone Assessment

Product development status.

Sales revenue and profit.

Increase in head count.

Participation in support programs.

Consultant or mentor report.

85

7.

Achieving Incubator Financial Self-Sustainability

Office of Commission on Higher Education.

Silpakorn University.

Members.

Licensing and royalty fees.

Project operations.

Part II Key Success Factors for UBI

With a 2-year experience at SUBI as a manager, the author would
like to propose five key success factors; manager, learning organization,
marketing & branding, networking and good governance entrepreneur, to
reach the achievement of running an incubator. Details are described as
follows.

86

1.

Manager

It is well accepted that the most important key success factor for any
incubators is the manager who is responsible both for nurturing the
incubatees and managing the incubator. The manager has to explore the
background and assess the need of incubatees to design suitable incubation
programs for them. These must be carried out one by one because each
incubatee has a different background and requirement. The next step is to
select consultants and mentors as well as the source of capital for the
incubatees. These tasks require a list of professional resources as well as
capitals and funds. The manager has to carry out the match making task
between consultants and incubates.
For a new incubator as SUBI, the manager has to work very hard to make
the incubator become a sustainable organization that could survive by its
own income. The business plan and roadmap of the incubator are therefore
great challenges to the manager. For UBI, the manager has to learn and get
familiar to the academic culture in terms of bureaucracy, staff information,
academic courses, research products and intellectual properties. These are
considered university assets that the manager has to work out how best to
exploit these resources to serve incubator functions.

It is also necessary for

the manager to create partnerships and networks with related organization

because they are important tools to enhance the incubator competency and
capacity.
In conclusion, the manager acts as a steering gear to drive several
mechanisms simultaneously. The main functions are new entrepreneur
incubation and sustaining the incubator, with a lot of miscellaneous details
waiting for the manager to tackle.
2.

Learning Organization

For SUBI, both of the value-added design & tourism incubation and
technology-based incubation programs do not require any expensive
laboratories or accessories to develop incubatees products. The essential
requirement is the forums and space for their meetings, seminars and small
discussion groups to share ideas, to find partners and to create market
networks. These activities help the entrepreneurs to develop their skill in both
management and marketing. Consequently,

SUBI is promoted to become a

87

learning organization (LO) as it is believed that this process is

one of the key success factors for UBI.
The best practice of a learning organization is the cluster of art
and crafts entrepreneurs at Chatuchak weekend market known
as the JJ market. This market was recognized by the Time
magazine as a world-class open market for art and craft
products. It is estimated that the volume of this market is over
1,000 million baht a month. SUBI has studied this cluster as a
success case study and found that there are three reasons to
drive this market to an international art and crafts market. Firstly,
the entrepreneurs in the JJ market are mostly small business
owners requiring small investments so that they are able to
reinvest if their first trials are unsuccessful. Lessons learned from
the first trial will provide them with the product improvements to
meet market needs and trends. It is also noted that these
entrepreneurs are mostly graduates from academic institutes so
they have high competency in managing, dealing with customers
and searching for alternative trends. They could invite the
customers to appreciate the creative ideas on their product
designs. A survey research carried out by Institute of Research
and Development, Silpakorn University and SUBI has revealed
that a number of Silpakorn students and alumni are small and
medium business owners at this market. They have formulated
their creative community cluster and become a learning
organization that supports all business owners, including new
entrepreneurs, to develop their products, to find raw materials
and to keep up with market trends, etc.
Secondly, the JJ market has been known as a weekend market
allowing people to come and buy miscellaneous products for
decades. It is the best place for new entrepreneurs to launch
their products as there are a number of consumers looking for
new products. The new entrepreneurs can also take this
opportunity to survey the needs of customers by inviting them to
explore their products and ask for advice. This is an informal
market survey research gained directly from users. Furthermore,
the information derived is not only from the local people but also
88

from foreigners who come as buyers and tourists. The diversity of information
from worldwide customers helps the producers to develop their products to fit
the market and target groups. The more the growth of tourism, the more
famous the JJ market has become. These are the reasons of how the JJ
market has become an international art and crafts market nowadays.
Last but not least, is the formulation of art and crafts entrepreneurs to be a
creative community allowing the members to exchange their experiences,
find business partners and market network. From the academic point of view,
this process is a learning organization allowing members to share their tacit
knowledge arising from their practices and experiences. The more active the
group is, the knowledge multiplication is achieved. It is believed that the tacit
knowledge is as important as the explicit knowledge to be found in articles,
journals and text books. Entrepreneurs at the JJ market have accumulated a
lot of tacit knowledge which will eventually become explicit knowledge of art
and crafts management and marketing.
3.

Marketing and Branding

Marketing and branding are recognized as important tools for the process of
product launch as well as for sustaining in the market. As mentioned earlier,
the achievement of art and crafts entrepreneurs at the JJ market is a result of
their awareness of market survey and marketing. They explore the needs of
the market through both local and international customers to improve and
position their products. The UBI could help incubatees in market access by
acting as an intermediary organization in creating the trade networks.
Branding is a marketing technique to convince the customers to believe that
the quality of products justifies their prices. Quality assurance of the products
must be based on standards set by recognized institutes or organizations.
The best practice of branding crafts products is the project called Seal of
Excellence carried out by UNESCO and ASEAN Handicraft Promotion and
Development Association. The project aimed to certify the submitted crafts
products that meet the criteria issued by UNESCO. This is to ensure the
customers of the quality of the products as well as the good governance in
production so that no labor law is violated, no individual or group exploited
unfairly at any stage in the production and the production is environmentally

89

friendly. It is anticipated that the guaranteed process will

enhance crafts trading in developing countries.
4. Networking
It is noted that self learning by practice and working with
professionals is the most effective way to develop the
incubatees skills. UBI should expose the incubatees to any best
practices and practice-based forums. To find the access for
practical forums it is necessary to create networks with other
organizations at both the national and international levels such
as Local and National Trade Chambers, Office of Small and
Medium Enterprises Promotion (OSMEP), Thailand Business
Incubators , UBI and TBI networks, National Business Incubation
Association (NBIA, USA). These networks not only provide
beneficial practices but also specific funds for UBI and
incubatees to perform their activities and projects, e.g. OSMEP
have some matching funds to develop both incubators and
incubatees projects.
SUBI has been using the networks to find access for incubatees
in several aspects. For example, ASEAN Handicraft Promotion
and Development Association (AHPADA) has granted full
support to SUBI members to join the international trade fairs, to
exchange visits, as well as to attend international seminars.
Furthermore, AHPADA has also offered SUBI to participate in
the CRAFSTNET project funded by the Asia-invest Programme,
European Commission. The project activities include thematic
workshops in 4 countries (Germany, Sri Lanka, Thailand and
Bangladesh) on topics of Marketing and Exports, Crafts and IT,
Crafts & Tourism and creation of a state-of-the-art, tailored IT
platform to promote information exchange and networking. The
Support Arts and Crafts International Centre of Thailand
(SACICT) provided the budget for SUBI to carry out the market
survey research called User Requirement Survey to explore
the needs of intermediary craft organizations in creating the IT
platform for crafts trade between Asia and Europe. These

90

activities allowed SUBI incubatees to gain experience on

international markets and new innovation of management.
In short, networking is proposed to be one of the key
success factors for incubators to reach an achievement. It
provides access for incubators and incubatees to find the
best practice, partners, professionals, markets and funds.
5.

Good Governance Entrepreneurs

The last key success factor is the incubatee. Incubation

programs contributes only one part of the achievement, the
other
important part depends on the new entrepreneurs. Although
the

admission

process

has

screened

the

potential

entrepreneurs to the incubator, the incubatees themselves

must have a strong intention to encounter and overcome any
problems and obstacles. However, incubatees who have
high competency in entrepreneurship are not satisfied as a
whole for SUBI target incubation programs. It is an intention
to produce business owners who rely on good governance
management. The qualified entrepreneurs have to be aware
of the global environment and social responsibility, e.g. no
labor law is violated and no individual or group exploited
unfairly at

any stage

in

the

production. To obtain

entrepreneurs with good governance, SUBI has designed

two parallel courses to incubate the incubatees as follows.

Core program

This program is designed to help new entrepreneurs to

reduce their risk and to have a viable business such as the
technique

of

business

plan

formulation,

accounting,

marketing, basic management, work sheets for auditing, etc.

91

Supplement program

This program is provided to elaborate incubatees to become good

governance entrepreneurs. The activities include training, seminars,
study visits at selected good governance companies.
Incubatees have to attend both programs as a minimum requirement of
SUBI. It is anticipated that the business run by good governance
entrepreneurs will be profitable and sustainable in the knowledge-based
society.

92

Directory of Business Incubators

in Thailand

95

Directory of Business Incubators by Region

Central
Innovation, Creativity and Enterprise (ICE) Center

Chandrakasem Rajabhat University Business

Assumption UniversityAssumption University

Incubator

Soi Ramkhamhaeng 24, Ramkhamhaeng Rd.,

Chandrakasem Rajabhat University

Huamak, Bangkapi, Bangkok 10240 Thailand

39/1 Ratchadapisek Rd., Jatujak, Bangkok 10900

Tel. 662-300-4543-62 Ext. 1319

Thailand

Fax. 662-719-1521

Tel. 662-512-1845
Fax. 662-512-1845

Chulalongkorn University Business Incubator

Faculty of Allied Health Sciences

Chulalongkorn University

Chulalongkorn University

254 Phyathai Rd., Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330

154 Rama I Rd., Wangmai, Pathumwan,

Thailand

Bangkok 10330 Thailand

Tel. 662-218-2895 to 6

Tel. 662-218-1096

Fax. 662-218-2871

Fax. 662-218-1082

Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy

Gemological Business Incubator Thailand

Chulalongkorn University

919/414-420 Fl. 33, Jewelry Trade Center Bldg.

Phyathai Rd., Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330 Thailand

Tel. 662-218-5776
Fax. 662-254-1824

Silom Rd., Silom, Bangrak, Bangkok

10500 Thailand
Tel. 662-267-4315-9
Fax. 662-267-4320

Dhonburi Rajabhat University Business

I.G.S. Public Co., Ltd.

Incubator

Gemopolis Industrial Estate, Praves, Bangkok

Dhonburi Rajabhat University

10260 Thailand

172 Insaraphab Rd., Wat Kanlaya, Thonburi, Bangkok Tel. 662-727-0000 Ext. 238
10600 Thailand

Fax. 662-727-0030

Tel. 662-890-2296
Fax. 662-890-2295
Email: drubics@yahoo.com
Kasetsart University Business Incubator Center

University Business Incubator

Kasetsart University

King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang

R&D Bldg. Fl. 4-6, Phahonyothin Rd., Latyao, Jatujak, Chalongkrung Rd., Ladkrabang, bangkok 10520
Bangkok 10900 Thailand

Thailand

Tel. 662-942-8812 Ext. 212

Tel. 662-737-3000 Ext. 3674

Fax. 662-942-8927

Fax. 662-737-2569

96

Central
University Business Incubator

University Technology Office of SMEs

King Mongkut's Institute of Technology North Bangkok King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi
1518 Piboonsongkram Road, Bangsue, Bangkok

126 Pracha-Uthit Rd., Bangmod, Thung-kru,

10800 Thailand

Bangkok 10140 Thailand

Tel. 662-913-2500 Ext. 1526

Tel. 662-870-6105 Ext. 1 to 2

Fax. 662-913-1695

Fax. 662-870-6105 Ext. 0

Email: ubi_kmitnb@hotmail.com

Email: uto@kmutt.ac.th

Mahanakorn University of Technology

Mahidol University Business Incubator

Academic Service Center

Mahidol University

51 Chuamsampan Rd., Kratumrai, Nongchok,

272 Rm. P 111 Physics Bldg., Rama 6 Rd.,

Bangkok 10530

Rajdhevee, Bangkok 10110 Thailand

Tel. 662-298-4021 to 4

Tel. 662-644-5427
Fax. 662-201-5746

Nakhon Sawan Rajabhat University Business

Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat University -

Incubator

University Business Incubators

Nakhon Sawan Rajabhat University

Nakhonpathom Rajabhat University

398 Sawanvithee Rd. Muang, Nakhon Sawan 60000

85 Malaiman Rd., Muang, Nakhon Pathom 73000

Thailand

Thailand

Tel. 6656-229-715

Tel. 6634-363-466

Fax. 6656-229-716

Fax. 6634-363-466
Email: npru_ubi@npru.ac.th

Naresuan University Business Incubator

Office of the National Culture Commission

Naresuan University

14 Fl. 5, Ratchaphisek Rd., Huaykwang, Bangkok

99 Moo 9 Phitsanulok-Nakhon Sawan Rd., Tapho,

10320 Thailand

Muang, Phitsanulok 65000 Thailand

Tel. 662-247-0013 Ext. 1409

Tel. 6655-261-000 Ext. 4270 to 3

Fax. 6655-226-577
Pibulsongkram Rajabhat University

Rajamangala University of Technology Phra

156 Moo 5 Plaichumpol, Muang, Phitsanulok 65000

Nakhon

Thailand

86 Phitsanulok Rd., Dusit, Bangkok 10300

Tel. 6655-267-000

Thailand

Fax. 6655-267-116

Tel. 662-282-9101 Ext. 1223

Fax. 662-281-0093

97

Central
Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi Silpakorn University Business Incubator
39 Moo 1 Rangsit-Nakhonnayok Rd., Klong 6,

Silpakorn University

Thanyaburi, Pathumthani 12110 Thailand

31 Na Pralan Rd, Pranakorn, Bangkok 10200

Tel. 662-549-4681

Thailand

Fax. 662-549-4680

Tel. 662-222-7130
Fax. 662-222-4851

Software Business Incubation Center

Srinakharinwirot University Business Incubator

Software Park Thailand

Srinakharinwirot University

99/31 Software Park Bldg., Chaengwattana Rd.,

114 Sukhumvit 23, Wattana, Bangkok 10110

Pakkred, Nonthaburi 11120 Thailand

Thailand

Tel. 662-583-9992 Ext. 1508 to 11

Tel. 662-259-5511

Fax. 662-962-2922

Fax. 662-259-2525

Email: s-bic@swpark.org
Sripatum University Business Incubator

Suan Dusit University Business Incubator

Sripatum University

Suan Dusit Rajabhat University

61 Phahonyothin Rd., Jatujak, Bangkok 10900

295 Ratchasima Rd., Dusit, Bangkok 10300

Thailand

Thailand

Tel. 662-561-2222 Ext. 5555 to 6

Tel. 662-244-5285 to 6

Fax. 662-561-2222 Ext. 5557

Fax. 662-244-5286

Email: spubi@spu.ac.th

Email: sdubi@dusit.ac.th

Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University Business

Technology Business Incubator

Incubator Corporation

Thailand Science Park

Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University

131 Innovation Cluster 1, Paholyothin Rd., Klong 1,

1 Uthong-Nok Rd., Wajira, Dusit, Bangkok 10300

Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120 Thailand

Thailand

Tel. 662-564-7200 Ext. 5370

Tel. 662-243-2240 Ext. 284

Fax. 662-564-7201

Fax. 662-241-5933
Email: service@subic.com
Thai Entrepreneur Development Institute

Thammasat University Business Incubator

150 Ratchabophit Rd., Pranakorn, Bangkok 10200

Thammasat University

Thailand

Rm. 214 Fl. 2 Faculty of Commerce and

Tel. 662-622-0303

Accountancy, Chan rd., Pranakorn, Bangkok

662-622-0111

10200 Thailand
Tel. 662-613-2258
Fax. 662-623-5653

98

Central
Valaya Alongkorn Rajabhat University
1 Moo 20 Klong 1, Klongluang, Phathumthani 13180
Thailand
Tel. 662-529-0674 Ext. 257
Fax. 662-909-1426

East
Burapha University Business Incubator

Rajabhat Rajanagarindra University

Burapha University

422 Maruphong Rd., Na Muang, Muang,

169 Long-Hard Bangsaen Rd., Saensook, Muang,

Chachoengsao 24000 Thailand

Chonburi 20131 Thailand

Tel. 6638-511-010

Tel. 6638-745-900 Ext. 4310

Fax. 6638-810-337

Fax. 6638-745-798
Email: ubi@buu.ac.th
Thai-German Institute
700/1 Moo 1 Amata Nakorn Industrial Estate Rm. 57,
Klong Tamru, Muang, Chonburi 20000 Thailand
Tel. 6638-215-033 to 44 Ext. 1704
Fax. 6638-742-705

West
Kanchanaburi Rajabhat University Business
Incubator
Kanchanaburi Rajabhat University
Kanchanaburi-Thongphaphum Rd., Nongbua, Muang,
Kanchanaburi 71000 Thailand
Tel. 6634-633-227 to 30 Ext. 101
Fax. 6634-633-225

99

Northeast
Buriram Rajabhat University Business Incubator

Kasetsart University Chalermphrakiat

Buriram Rajabhat University

SakonNakhon Province Campus

439 Jira Road, Naimuang, Muang, Buriram 31000

59 Chiang Krua, muang, Sakon Nakhon 47000

Thailand

Thailand

Tel. 6644-614-575

Tel. 6642-731-233 Ext. 4205

Fax. 6644-612-858
Khon Kaen University Business Incubator

Loei Rajabhat University

Khon Kaen University

234 Loei-Chiangkan Rd., Muang, Loei 42000

Fl. 1, Pianwichit Bldg., Faculty of Engineering, Muang, Thailand

Khon Kaen 40002 Thailand

Tel. 6642-835-223 Ext. 1151

Tel. 6643-202-697

Fax. 6642-811-143

Fax. 6643-202-697
Mahasarakham University Business Incubator

Nakhon Ratchasima Rajabhat University -

Mahasarakham University

University Business Incubator

Talat, Muang, Mahasarakham 44000 Thailand

Nakhon Ratchasima Rajabhat University

Tel. 6643-723-539 Ext. 101

2 Fl. Tubkaew Training Center, Suranarai Rd., Nai

Fax. 6643-723-539 Ext. 105

Muang, Muang, Nakhon Ratchasima 30000

Email: msubiscenter@yahoo.com

Thailand
Tel. 6644-251-106
Fax. 6644-251-106
Email: nrru-ubi@hotmail.com

Rajamangala University of Technology Isaan -

Suranaree University of Technology -

University Business Incubator

University Business Incubator

Rajamangala University of Technology Isaan

Suranaree University of Technology

744 Suranarai Rd., Muang, Nakhon Ratchasima 30000 111 Rm. 121 Technopolis, Suraphat Bldg. 1,
Thailand

Muang, Nakhon Ratchasima 30000 Thailand

Tel. 6644-272-143

Tel. 6644-224-818

Fax. 6644-272-143

Fax. 6644-224-814

University Business Incubator of Chom Surin

Ubon Ratchathani University Business

Surindra Rajabhat University

Incubator

186 Surin-Prasart Rd., Nok Muang, Muang, Surin

Ubon Ratchathani University

32000 Thailand

85 Warin Chamrap, Ubon Ratchathani 34190

Tel. 6644-515-172

Thailand

Fax. 6644-515-172

Tel. 6645-353-817
Fax. 6645-353-805

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Northeast
Udon Thani Rajabhat University
64 Thahan Rd., Mak Khaeng, Muang, Udon Thani
41000 Thailand
Tel. 6642-211-040 Ext. 102
Fax. 6642-243-296

North
Chiangmai Rajabhat University Business Incubator Chiangmai University Business Incubator
Chiangmai Rajabhat University

Chiangmai University

202 Chotena Rd., Changpuak, Muang, Chiangmai

239 Huay Keaw Road, Suthep, Muang Chiang Mai,

50300 Thailand

Chiang Mai 50200 Thailand

Tel. 6653-885-555

Tel. 6653-210-731 to 2

Fax. 6653-885-556

Fax. 6653-210-733

Chiangrai Rajabhat University Business Incubator

Mae Fah Luang University Business Incubator

Chiangrai Rajabhat University

Mae Fah Luang University

80 Baandoo, Muang, Chiangrai 57100 Thailand

333 Moo 1 Thasud, Muang, Chiangrai 57100

Tel. 6653-776-000 Ext. 1250

Thailand

Fax. 6653-702-758

Tel. 6653-917-003
Fax. 6653-917-004

Maejo University Business Incubator

Payap University

Maejo UniversityMaejo University

Super Highway Chiangmai-Lampang Rd., Muang,

63 Moo 4 Nonghan, Sansai, Chiang Mai 50290

Chiangmai 50000 Thailand

Thailand

Tel. 6653-241-255 Ext. 7201

Tel. 6653-873-010

Fax. 6653-241-983

Fax. 6653-873-017
Email: mjubi@mju.ac.th
The Far Eastern University Business Incubator
Center
The Far Eastern University120 Mahidol Rd., Muang,
Chiangmai 50100 Thailand
Tel. 6653-201-800 Ext. 2342
Fax. 6653-201-810

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South
House of Business Incubation

Industrial Promotion Center Region 11

Hatyai University

(Songkhla)

125/502 Polpichai Rd., Hatyai, Songkhla 90110

165 Kanchanavanich Road, Hat Yai, Songkhla

Thailand

90110 Thailand

Tel. 6674-200-300 Ext. 200

Tel. 6674-211-906 to 8

Fax. 6674-424-383

Fax. 6674-211-904

Email: ubi@hu.ac.th
Nakhon Si Thammarat Rajabhat University

Phuket Rajabhat University Business Incubator

1 Moo 4 Tha-ngew, Muang, Nakhon Si Thammarat

Phuket Rajabhat University

80280 Thailand

21 Thepkrasattri Rd., Rassada, Muang, Phuket

Tel. 6675-377-437

83000 Thailand

Fax. 6675-377-650

Tel. 6676-255-045
Fax. 6676-217-677 Ext. 1
Email: pkrubi@gmail.com

Prince of Songkla University Business Incubation

Suratthani Rajabhat University Business

Center

Incubation Center

Prince of Songkla University

Suratthani Rajabhat University

Hatyai, Songkhla 90112 Thailand

Rm. 2209 Fl. 2 Faculty of Management Science

Tel. 6674-287-408 to 11

Bldg., Khuntalay, Maung, Suratthani 84100

Fax. 6674-287-412

Thailand

Email: psu-bic@group.psu.ac.th

Tel. 6677-355-651
Fax. 6677-355-652

Suratthani Vocational College

Thaksin University Business Incubation Center

456/3 Taladmai Rd., Muang, Suratthani 84000

Thaksin University

Thailand

222 R&D Office, Ban Phrao, Pa Phayorm,

Tel. 6677-282-001

Pattalung 93110 Thailand

Tel. 6674-693-973
Fax. 6674-443-948

Walailak University Business Incubator

Yala Rajabhat University Business Incubator

Walailak University

Yala Rajabhat University

222 Thaiburi, Thasala, Nakhonsithammarat 80160

133 Tesabarn 3 Rd., Sateng, Muang, Yala 95000

Thailand

Thailand

Tel. 6675-673-541

Tel. 6673-227-151

Fax. 6675-673-527

Fax. 6673-227-13

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