Chilean Entrepreneurs Enter Intense Silicon Valley Program
January 19th, 2012An elite group of Chilean entrepreneurs are beginning a one-month immersive work experience at SRI International to advance venture opportunities. The five teams participating in SRI’s Venture Readiness Program were selected from more than 75 teams representing the top Chilean universities, in a program sponsored by CORFO, the Chilean Economic Development Agency.
The work experience is part of CORFO’s “de la Idea al Mercado: Go to Market” program, which identifies early-stage venture opportunities for entrepreneurs who could benefit from relationships with Silicon Valley experts. The program is part of Chile’s overall strategy to develop sectors of their economy into globally competitive industries.
“We warmly welcome this group of Chilean entrepreneurs to SRI as they embark on an important step in their efforts to commercialize their visions on the global stage,” said Stephen Ciesinski, SRI vice president of Strategic Business Initiatives. “We will work with each team to develop components needed for market …
Chile IT: How One Agency Acts as an Engine for Exports
October 4th, 2011
By Patrick Haller
When a country such as Chile is known worldwide for traditional products such as copper, fish, wine and fruit, introducing a new industry can be challenging. Established in 2009, Chile IT grew from a public policy to move away from natural resources, and develop knowledge-based industries. Branding strategies are integral to marketing success, and without this key element companies hardly find success, especially in the international market.
Chile’s Service Sector is on Fire: A Classic Success Building a Knowledge Economy
September 27th, 2011
By Patrick Haller
SANTIAGO: The Chilean services sector accounted for $13 billion during 2009-2010, and it is projected it will reach $13 billion during the 2011-2012 period. This robust figure shows a growth rate that will outpace that of goods, the country´s traditional stronghold. Copper continues to be Chile´s main export, and the price of that high-valued commodity has a direct, and sometimes damaging, effect on other exports such as fruit, wine, fish and more recently software.
Exclusive Slideshow: Chile’s Pinera Talks Trade at New York City Gala
September 22nd, 2011Chile President Sebastian Pinera spoke to a group of over 300 politicians, diplomats, CEOs and media during an invitation-only gala Wednesday in New York City, at the exclusive Riverpark Restaurant on the banks of the East River. With trade volumes doubling since 2004 between the U.S. and Chile, Pinera stressed the importance of driving new economic growth between the two countries. CORFO and ProChile, two of the countries premiere investment agencies, hosted the event along with the North American-Chilean Chamber of Commerce.
Valparaíso, Chile: A Solid Choice or Too Unstable?
August 26th, 2011By Patrick Haller
On June 28 hundreds of university students committed “Mass Suicide by Education” in Valparaíso, Chile. The symbolic demonstration was just one of a series of vociferous acts being played out over the country since May by students, teachers and their supporters. With such internal conflicts, is one of the country’s strongest centers of higher education (Valparaiso), going to become less appealing as a sourcing destination?
Chile Gets Serious About Taking the Road Less Traveled
June 2nd, 2011By Kirk Laughlin
Pennycook of CORFO
Chile is starting to talk more openly about its future plans to – in essence – establish and live in an entirely new category among Latin America sourcing and services destination. That category is partly reflective of the requirements of a rising tide of multinational firms – from mining to biotech – that are continuing to set up shop in Chile and also aligns well with the steady output of engineering-schooled professionals. But does the country’s relatively small population (around 18 million) and highly-desirable qualities suggest that precious human capital resources will get snapped up before this new category effort fully matures?
Is CORFO Stuck in Neutral?
May 4th, 2011
As Nicolo Giglo of CORFO packs up to head back to Chile, more questions arise about whether Chile’s main export promotion group is fading into the background.
By Kirk Laughlin
In the last week Nearshore Americas has learned that Nicolo Gligo, the well known and well liked Executive Director, USA, of InvestChile-CORFO will soon surrender his position and return back home to Chile from his current based in Southern California. Gligo, who placed in the top twenty in our 2010 Power Rankings, and one of the most skilled export promotion executives in the Nearshoring industry, intends to launch a consultancy.
The departure of Gligo seems to come at a time when CORFO is at a low ebb in terms of its visibility in the US market. There is increasing belief that CORFO was a more formidable organization in the US in previous years – and during the last two years there is some evidence of indecision and a lack of a more cohesive go-to-market strategy.
ChileIT Appoints New CEO in Hopes of Scoring More US Outsourcing Business
January 18th, 2011
Carlos Ferandez, new CEO of ChileIT
The Chilean association of IT companies, ChileIT, has appointed Carlos Fernández as CEO, effective January 3rd. Fernández is former CEO of Coasin Global Services, an IT applications development firm. He has also been CEO of both Telmex Chile and AT&T Chile, and has served on the board of the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) in Chile.
Fernández takes over as CEO from Juan Carlos Munoz, who has led the association since its inception in 2009. Being fully bilingual and having previously lived and worked in New York, the ChileIT companies are betting that Fernández will be able to increase their exposure to the US market. Their current North American clients include Delta Airlines, Equifax, Oracle, Shell and Yahoo.
Chile in recent years has become a …
COUNTRY PROFILE: The Secret Behind Chile’s Thriving Outsourcing Industry
January 18th, 2010By Tarun George
Chile may not be as big as Brazil or have as many IT professionals who speak English as they have in Mexico, but that hasn’t deterred global sourcing leaders in this Southern Cone country from putting a lot of muscle behind a thriving outsourcing industry.
Over the past few years, Chile has gained important momentum from an aggressive government campaign to attract high profile companies, with high tech outsourcing needs. With the triumphant win by right-wing billionaire Sebastian Pinera in the recent president election, experts see Chile continuing to offer a stable and welcoming investment climate for multinational firms.
Since 2006, President Michelle Bachelet has used generous incentives and government support to make the country the main nearshore destination in Latin America. And it’s been paying off – Chile ranked 8th in the world in the 2009 A.T. Kearney Global Services Location Index. The index measures 50 countries as offshore destinations, and placed Chile ahead of all its LATAM counterparts.
Some figures showing Chile’s prominence:
On December 15th 2009, Chile was invited as a full member of the OECD, a group of the most developed nations. It will be the first country in Latin America to join.
The Doing Business 2009 index (World Bank) ranked Chile as the most “business friendly” country in Latin America
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) ranked Chile 15th in its Future Leaders in Global Offshoring 2005 report, above others in the region
Chile has the lowest foreign currency risk of any country in the region, and is rated A+ by Standard and Poor’s.
Chile VC Influence Starts to Reach into Silicon Valley
November 18th, 2009Santiago, Chile-based Austral Capital is one of a growing number of Latin American VC firms making names for themselves. Thanks to aggressive support from the Chilean government, the less than two-year old company has funded several Chilean start-ups, including Atakama Labs, which I wrote about earlier today. And it’s also moved quickly to set up an office in Silicon Valley and hired Hiroshi Wald to run the show. Wald said Austral’s Silicon Valley mission is two-fold: help Chilean entrepreneurs succeed in the U.S. market and also find worthwhile U.S. companies in which to invest.
Wald is also the Program Chair of the MIT/Stanford Venture Lab. His prior positions include Managing Director at Competitive Insights and the Zeno Group. He also founded Zingdata, which Knowledge Networks acquired. He said in an interview that he is bullish on Chile and that there are “so few venture firms focused …
