October in Taiwan is glorious, full of historic holidays. Amidst this celebratory atmosphere, the Small and Medium Enterprise Administration (SMEA) of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) has hosted the first Small and Medium Enterprise Festival, including a series of more than 27 events throughout Taiwan. On October 21 and 22, the Outstanding SMEs Exhibition was held at Huashan 1914 Creative Park. Over 200 SMEs gathered there to showcase the SMEA's achievements in assisting entrepreneurship, transformation and upgrading of industry, and the thriving vitality of Taiwan's SMEs. The public and specialists in all fields were cordially invited to join the Festival events and show their support for SMEs.
SMEA Deputy Director-General Mei-Hsueh Lin stated that SMEs constitute the majority of Taiwan's industrial structure. In 2015, the number of SMEs in Taiwan increased to 1,383,981, accounting for 97.69% of the total number of companies. This makes SMEs the backbone of Taiwan's economy. Vigorously promoted through industrial research and innovative development as well as inter-departmental collaboration, the government's "5+2 Industries" and "New Southbound" policies strive to give SMEs guidance in how to respond to changes in the economy and connect with the world. The hope is to create a friendlier environment for SME development. Companies invited to this years' Outstanding SMEs Exhibition have all met with their own successes, and are happy to share their experiences. This provides valuable examples that both entrepreneurs and corporate managers can reflect on and learn from. We hope the public will continue to support Taiwan's SMEs.
The SME Festival this year caters to companies' needs for innovative entrepreneurship, value-added technologies, guidance resources, and outstanding awards by hosting activities throughout northern, central, southern, and eastern Taiwan. Under the themes "Pokemon for Entrepreneurship and Innovation", "Liao Tianding for New Ventures", "Fong Fei-Fei for Successful Value-Added Technologies", and "Ascending the Heights of Mt. Yu", more than 27 event sessions have been scheduled in the forms of seminars, forums, lectures, competitions, and award ceremonies. We hope that these events will help SMEs and prospective entrepreneurs in Taiwan to quickly get the resources provided by the SMEA and speed up their way on the road to success.
A major event of this Festival was the Outstanding SMEs Exhibition held at Huashan 1914 Creative Park on October 21 and 22. Over 200 companies showcased their achievements in 10 exhibition areas, which include innovation and entrepreneurship, LOHAS and social enterprises, authentic Taiwan, new ventures, high-growth leaders, SBIR, rural digital support, and companies impacted by Typhoon Nepartak. At 6 PM on the 21, the SME Starlight Movie Party was held at the Huashan Forum with a showing of the Taiwanese film Battle of Hip Hopera, a spectacular work financially backed by the Small and Medium Enterprise Credit Guarantee Fund.
In addition to visiting the exhibitions, seeing the movie, and attending the forums, participants in the Outstanding SMEs Exhibition were also able to enjoy delicious food prepared by companies under the guidance of the SMEA. By simply completing registration at the Exhibition's website and presenting the registration number on text message at the venue, participants can receive one richly-flavored cup of Hold Mind coffee from the winner of the Business Startup Award. Moreover, attendants of the SMEs Starlight Movie Party on the evening of October 21 can receive one 3Q chicken cutlet. Quantities are limited; first come, first served. For information on the activities, please visit the Small and Medium Enterprise Festival website (www.smef.com.tw), or download the app 4G Mobile With All Speed and enter the Festival events section.