New Taipei City is taking industrial innovation seriously, and one of the clearest signs is the Innosquare startup accelerator.
 

Innosquare has become the place to be for Taiwan's business startups trying to launch break-through products and services and maybe even become the next Google, Facebook or Airbnb.
 

Conveniently located above a metro station in the city's Sanchong district, Innosquare offers some 14,000 square feet of air-conditioned work and office space as well as conference rooms, a hands-on lab for designers, wi-fi connections and financial and technical mentoring. It's open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year – and for those would-be entrepreneurs who need to burn the midnight oil, there are clean toilets and showers.
 

 “This is a new thing for us,” says Mi Chun-ying of New Taipei City's Economic Development Department. “The government wants to promote innovation and support industry,” says the deputy assistant director of the planning division for industry and commerce. “We want to use the government's capacity to help people innovate and find suitable business partners.”
 

In nearby Taipei there are private business incubators but New Taipei City wants to take a more active approach. It is using its own resources to help aspiring entrepreneurs, making city office space available and putting financial muscle behind the effort.
 

The accelerator was launched in late 2014 with help from Chiao Tung University, which has supplied a team of mentors, mostly from the business community. Innosquare has room for about 85 people, and it is now at full capacity.

Competent Authority：Department of Economic Development, New Taipei City Government