Here are 4 Thai startups that are shaking up their home market

Photo credit: Pavlo Hryhorash

Since 2009, Bangkok has been steadily climbing up the most visited cities list, topping the global list in both 2012 and 2013. But Thailand is not just a tourist haven. With a population of 64 million, a mobile penetration of 150 percent, and a young population that is increasingly connected, tech startups are gaining prominence in a country better known for its beaches, hospitality, and Red Bull.

Organizations like the Thailand Board of Investments are encouraging startups to digitize the country and the economy. Independent organizations like Bangkok Entrepreneurs are building and supporting the startup ecosystem from the grassroots. And now, corporates are also getting involved in setting up incubators and accelerators, such as DTAC Accelerate.

With so much activity in Thailand, now is a good time to look at four local startups that are looking to stamp their marks in the country.

1. Skootar gives you same day delivery for your small business

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Skootar is a motorbike messenger service for documents, packages, and pretty much anything you can fit on a bike. It covers the entire Bangkok Metropolitan region. Just fire up the app, order the closest messenger to your location, track the delivery, and pay online.

In 2014, co-founder Suwatt Pathompakawan faced a problem. As a small business owner in Bangkok, he did a lot of the running around himself, collecting checks and making deliveries. During these trips, he would see lots of motorbike messengers waiting around, playing games on their phones, just endlessly killing time. The idea to optimize this entire process came to him quite quickly. It was put to the test the very next day when they competed at Angelhack Bangkok 2014. The startup is expecting to pull in more than US$1 million in revenue by August 2016.

2. Book your local Thai tour through Take Me Tour

Photo credit: Dennis Jarvis

Take Me Tour is Thailand’s largest online marketplace for local tours. The platform allows you to book local tours in Thailand with a local “expert” (somebody who is from the area and has a fair amount of knowledge about the place you’re looking to explore). With 7,500 registered local experts in their system, spread across 32 cities, Take Me Tour is a great way to connect with the local people in a new country while sightseeing.

The obvious question here is how are experts chosen. Take Me Tour verifies the local experts based on their ID, phone number, social media presence, and their criminal record. Once approved and added in to their database, crowdsourced customer reviews vouch for the quality of the local experts. Next time you’re planning to discover a new place in Thailand, it might just be worth your time to check out these guys, connect with the locals, and create new memories.

3. Giztix brings worldwide logistics to your browser

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Giztix is an online marketplace for worldwide logistics services, bridging the gap between shippers (people who need to get things moved) and transporters (people who do the actual moving). Much like Uber, Giztix also brings in local transporters (local truck owners and drivers). As a shipper, you can get the best price when you need things moved.

The founder, Sittisak Wongsomnuk, has decades of experience running his family’s logistics business, but as is usually the case, he couldn’t find solutions to existing pain points. The major one, Sittisak found, was the amount of paperwork in the logistics industry. From waiting for sales quotations, to being unable to offer any added value to the service because of the time and hefty investments required, to a very inefficient, non-standardized pricing system for customers, Sittisak decided to jump in head first and solve these problems for himself.

4. Manage your credit card with Credit Mavin

Photo credit: Saranya Chawanrattanasakul

Credit Mavin is an app that manages all your credit cards. Simply fire up the app, load in all your cards, and track how much you are spending, how much credit you have left, and what your biggest expenses are, split by category. While many apps provide similar features to users, Credit Mavin differentiates itself by offering this service specifically for credit cards users.

Interestingly, Credit Mavin wasn’t always named so. Initially named ‘Piggipo,’ with a pig as the mascot, the startup was invited to join a Malaysian fintech accelerator. The team decided to rebrand the startup more in keeping with Malay cultural and religious values, and chose a cat instead. But the product itself remained unchanged. The startup now has over 200,000 users, and has its sights firmly set on the rest of Southeast Asia.

Visit these startups at #TIASG2016

These four startups showcase a very obvious trend in the Thai market: things are moving online, from logistics, to credit card management, to booking local tours, to courier services. See this first hand at Tech in Asia’s Singapore conference in April. Buy your tickets here to meet these and other interesting startups.

DTAC accelerate is an accelerator program run by DTAC. DTAC is the 2nd largest telecom operator in Thailand and one of the 13 businesses of Telenor Group. The program was established in 2013. The program is tasked with discovering startups with high growth potential, to help support and grow the startup community in Thailand. DTAC has invested in and supports 11 startups. You can find more about us at our website (http://accelerate.dtac.co.th/) and on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/dtacAccelerate/)