With Taipei close to de-escalating COVID restrictions down to Level 1, its about time to take advantage of new opportunities and make new connections. If you’re looking for how to start getting connected, All Hands co-founder Daniel Miller can help point the way.
As I am writing this article, Taiwan is slowly but surely easing domestic Covid-19 restrictions, and hopefully regular networking events will soon return! In my last article – How to broaden your professional network in Taiwan – I mentioned figuring out where to network is a daunting task in itself. Well, this article will hopefully point you in the right direction.
We’ve compiled a list of organisations that regularly hold quality events. This will be a living list, and is by no means comprehensive. If you know of a great organisation or series of events that should be included, please send us a message.
Before we dive in, a few tips, if I may:
Read my previous article, ‘How to broaden your professional network in Taiwan’
Cross-reference the organisations below and the key contacts on different platforms. Usually they market their events and workshops on different channels. Most often, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Plan ahead. Typically, groups settle on a roster of events every quarter. Give yourself a set time at the beginning of every month to check what is coming up. You really want to plan a few months ahead to not feel overwhelmed! When I endeavoured to go to 2-3 networking events a week, I found this was far too much and needed a huge break!
Unless noted, most of these events are in English or bilingual. Please contact organisers directly with any language concerns.
General Directories to Get Started
All Hands Taiwan – as the author of this article I would like to shamelessly take advantage of the opportunity to point you to our website. As mentioned above, each month All Hands will share a post of events from around Taiwan. These events will span networking, professional learning, community gatherings, hiring, seminars, happy hours, and more. We try to keep our resources list as comprehensive as possible, and bear in mind that these are events for professionals, so you won’t see language exchanges, book clubs, parties, etc. Again, if you know of a great event or organisation that should be included, please send us a message to let us know.
Eventbrite – a useful platform to check what in-person and online professional and social events are out there in Taipei, or any other city in Taiwan for that matter.
InterNations – A community platform that promotes more informal and fun events to get to know the local professional community.
Linkedin Groups – You will find a wide array of Taiwan-focused groups on LinkedIn (some more active than others). Take your pick and find some interesting connections!
Meetup – another useful platform to survey general professional and social networking events in Taipei. Becoming more widely used by the organisations below.
Start-ups and Entrepreneurship
Anchor Taiwan – A platform for corporates, startups and investors at the forefront of harnessing Taiwan’s start-up Ecosystem. Follow on Facebook and Linkedin to keep up to date with events. The 1st Friday of every month, Anchor hosts ‘Meet the Anchors’ aiming to bring together entrepreneurial minds. Elevate Taiwan – A community group that was born with the ambition to truly level up the entire Taiwanese ecosystem and startup community. Keep an eye out for their co-working and happy hours by following their Facebook page. 11th Fleet – This should be the first port of call if you need consulting on starting any business as a foreigner in Taiwan. Get in touch if you are a local startup or foreign entity that wants to build a team to run their businesses in Taiwan. They host a regular founders lunch event that always brings out an interesting group of entrepreneurs! Futureward– More than a modern co-working space, Futureward holds regular events focused on supporting the startup ecosystem-and they have close ties to the Taiwan Tech Arena and of course the Gold Card programme. Many of the organisations here host events at Futureward, so keep up to date with their events calendar. MOX – SOSV’s “Mobile-Only Accelerator”, located in Taipei — enabling mobile apps, platforms and services from around the world to reach hundreds of millions of mobile-first and mobile-only users. MOX Friday happy hour is a monthly ecosystem meetup series that takes place on the 1st Friday of every month. Taipei Entrepreneurs Hub – This is a Facebook fan page that shares important information relevant to the Taipei market. Founders also get to engage with mentors through a private Line group. They host events such as happy hours and roundtables to help startups get connected with the local ecosystem and resources by interacting with mentors. Taipei Impact Entrepreneurs – The largest foreigner entrepreneur community, period. This community regularly holds events with fellow founders and aspiring entrepreneurs alike – this is also an ideal place to meet people who have transitioned from one career path to another. Taipei Women in Tech – A professional networking group to help women to excel in tech. Their events include: tech talks, startup stories, tips and guidance, events featuring influential tech industry experts and investors, as well as career and leadership development. They aim to build a strong support network for women to enter and grow their tech careers or become tech entrepreneurs. Taipei Startup Founder 101 – This group hosts numerous free events throughout the year where you can learn the best practices of starting a company from people who have been there and done that. Taiwan Startup Stadium – Taiwan’s leading ecosystem builder aiming to cultivate global-minded entrepreneurs and showcase the most innovative Taiwanese startups to the world. TSS has a roster of regular events. Starting Lineup X Membership is a free program for startups who want to start from Taiwan. Members get access to a community of globally-minded founders, mentors, investors, media and partners along with a host of resources specifically tailored to startups going global! Startboard – Hosts regular bilingual events regarding immigration issues, starting up as a foreign company and how to enter local incubators. Provides visa, legal, patent, and other services to entrepreneurs focused on ASEAN, India, and Taiwan. Women Who Code Taipei – events centred around promoting women are proportionally represented as technical leaders, executives, founders, VCs, board members, and software engineers. Regular events in both English and Chinese
Chambers of Commerce
Taipei has a variety of foreign Chambers of Commerce that are extremely active in terms of events – ranging from workshops to seminars to networking happy hours. Keep up to date with their annual schedules. Please note that some events may be for members only. These are the most active chambers: American Australia and New Zealand British Canadian European French (CCIFT) German (AHK) Hopefully connecting with these groups and organizations will get you on your way to networking with the people you want to meet in Taiwan!
This article was authorized by the Taiwan Employment Gold Card Office and is a joint cooperation between the Taiwan Employment Gold Card Office and All Hands Taiwan. The original article is published at https://goldcard.nat.gov.tw. Daniel Miller is the co-founder of All Hands Taiwan as well as the Taiwan Manager for Pagoda Projects. Feel free to reach out to Daniel via LinkedIn.