The Prime Minister met with executives from Canva, a software technology company, to promote Thailand's Creative Economy on the global market, aiming to increase program designers from 190 to 1,000 by 2028.
At 13:45 on 18 Aug 2026 local time in Sydney, Australia, Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Anutin Charnvirakul visited Canva's global headquarters, a world-leading visual communication technology company. He held discussions with COO and co-founder Cliff Obrecht, Southeast Asia CEO Willix Halim, and Thailand regional executive Pakapon Tangtongchin about cooperation to drive Thailand's Creative Economy and bring Thai creators’ works to the global market.
The Prime Minister stated that the Creative Economy is a key industry the government aims to promote because Thailand possesses talented personnel, unique identity, and powerful cultural capital that can be developed into products, services, and intellectual property with value on the global market. He sees a global platform like Canva as a means to open space for Thai design and culture to reach users worldwide, turning creativity into tangible income. The government supports increasing the presence of Thai design work, cultural elements, and creators’ outputs on the platform so global users can utilize them, creating opportunities for Thai creators to earn compensation. Canva targets raising the number of Thai Canva Creators from about 190 to 1,000 by 2028.
Canva noted its close cooperation with Thai agencies, especially the Department of Business Development (DBD) and the Digital Economy Promotion Agency (depa), to develop design, digital, and AI skills for SMEs. This enables entrepreneurs to upgrade products, packaging, and marketing to compete internationally. Canva is also expanding educational collaboration with the Ministry of Education to provide Thai youth access to tools and skills essential for the modern economy.
The Prime Minister invited Canva to consider registering a legal entity and expanding its business base in Thailand, including increasing foreign talent working alongside Thai staff to foster knowledge transfer and develop the country’s technology and creative ecosystem. He encouraged Canva to work closely with the Board of Investment (BOI) on investment and skill development projects (Skill Bridge) to enhance SME workforce capabilities. BOI will work closely with Canva to advance investment cooperation, talent development, and build a tangible Creative Economy ecosystem in Thailand.
Following the meeting, Cliff Obrecht, Canva’s co-founder and COO, presented commemorative gifts of cartoon portraits drawn by an artist, featuring the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sihasak Phuangketkeow, and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Arkhom Termpittayapaisith.
