Digital Transformation

• 07 Oct 21
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ETDA, partners launch hackathon to find 'the best enabler'

The Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA), Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DES), has joined hands with several partners to launch a hackathon activity to find digital solutions to improve the competency of local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The activity is called "Hackathon: Finding the Best Enabler".

Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn, the DES minister, said Thailand faces a huge challenge from the rapid advancement of technology amid the pandemic, which have not only changed the way people live but also accelerated digital transformation among both state and private organisations.


 

The DES Ministry and ETDA play a major role in promoting the use of digital technology in all sectors to improve people's quality of life and ensure that electronic transactions will be secure, reliable and trustworthy.

Government and private organisations, including SMEs, need to pivot towards the electronic format powered by e-office technology, he said.

Referring to the hackathon, Mr Chaiwut said the event was created by a collaboration between ETDA, tech media Techsauce as well as other partners to give digital service providers an opportunity to present their technology in the competition in order to find the best innovation for e-office solutions.

Interested parties have until Nov 4 to submit their applications to join the competition.

"This is an important step to bring e-office solutions to serve SMEs and startups, who are a big group of entrepreneurs in the country," said Mr Chaiwut.

The programme also forms part of Thailand's national policy on the development of digital economy and society, which would be a boon for SMEs through e-office adoption.

ETDA executive director Chaichana Mitrpant said his agency has provided three online workshop activities to enhance the potential of SMEs with e-office solutions. More than 300 SMEs participated.

Through the activities, these SMEs expressed concerns about the lack of a central database that would facilitate their decision-making process and a lack of digital tools that can level up their business competence, he said.

They did not have digital technology that could apply to their business either, he said.

This hackathon is an important activity to help address their concerns and unlock the potential of SMEs, he said, adding it will also lead to new use cases and a chance for business matching between digital service providers and SMEs.

A free trial of e-office solutions created by participating providers will also be given to SMEs joining the programme.

The winning solution provider will get the opportunity to join ETDA sandbox scheme, which supports the practical use of the solution. To apply visit https://bit.ly/3uF8tN8.

The selection committee will select 10 out of 40 qualifying teams for the final round of the competition with the announcement on Nov 15. The final round will be held on Nov 30.