Our visit to INACAP was certainly a highlight of the International Institute trip to Chile. As a class, we attended a symposium on entrepreneurship, for which our professor, Michael Goldberg, was the key note speaker. After listening to a highly thought provoking presentation from Goldberg, CWRU students and the rest of the attendees were encouraged to team up for a group exercise during which ideas on the business environment within Chile as well as attendees’ unique experiences with entrepreneurship were exchanged. Our team was made up primarily of five CWRU students and two INACAP students: Carlos Hernandez and Mario Gutierrez. We started our group conversation by introducing ourselves, sharing our personal and academic backgrounds, and knowledge of entrepreneurship. Following that, we talked about the business environment in Chile, and how well it promoted innovation and entrepreneurial activities. Our main deliverable for this group activity was to identify trends within entrepreneurship in Chile, any problems the country may be experiencing and the potential solutions to overcome them. I found this symposium at INACAP to be a most valuable experience for it gave us the opportunity to discuss entrepreneurship with locals in person and truly understand the barriers they face in starting and maintaining successful businesses.
Carlos and Mario, being the oldest members of our group, had started families of their own and were in the process of starting a company together. They were getting their MBA’s in order to prepare for the business world. They were trying to figure out ways to get funding for their business and business guidance.
The first problem they expressed facing so far with their entrepreneurial activities had been understanding CORFO’s (Corporación de Fomento de la Producción de Chile) (a.k.a. Production Development Corporation) role in acquiring funds. CORFO is a Chilean governmental organizational that was founded in 1939 with the missions of promoting economic growth in Chile. Carlos and Mario were both extremely frustrated with the complexity of the information interface CORFO used. According to them, the application process for funds is not intuitive and too complex due to lack of clear directions given to applicants. Turns out it is not uncommon for business starters to get a “coach” or mentor to guide them through the process, since self education is very difficult. There needed to be more transparency between CORFO and the public. Another barrier was the old-fashioned perception of what dictates a promising business opportunity. The Chilean government, although wanting to encourage innovation, has been highly risk-averse when subject business is based on a technology and industry unfamiliar to it. Having an economy that is strongly rooted in raw material production, Chile isn’t particularly technology driven. A culture divide is present between the old generation of businessmen and the younger generation, which had differing visions for the future Chilean economy. Another topic of discussion was difficulty to get funding for regions outside Santiago. While Santiago had a booming economy, the rest of Chile was being dismissed. Not to mention the huge interest businessmen had to bear with the credit they took from the government/ banks, if they received it at all.
Our team did not only identify some barriers entrepreneurs were facing in the field but we also suggested some solutions. We believed that better advertising of other credit / funding options, alternate to banks and CORFO, would be very beneficial to upcoming entrepreneurs who are discouraged by lack or inaccessibility of resources. We also suggested that starting the discussion of entrepreneurship earlier in people’s education would help change the old ways of picking a career. Since not a lot of Chileans get the opportunity to go to college, they are never exposed to the concept of entrepreneurship and they are not encouraged to start a business of their own. Expanding the scope of funding from Santiago to the rest of Chile was also critical to supporting entrepreneurial activities all around Chile and giving a uniform boost to the country’s economy.
This exercise had been extremely insightful to all participants. While we learned a lot about business in Chile from the locals, we got to share with them how entrepreneurship was being encouraged and taught in the United States. We, as CWRU students, also shared our findings on entrepreneurship in Chile that we had gathered through our trips to many local businesses, making our group exchanges mutually informative. I am excited to have extended my professional network to Santiago and am looking forward to staying in touch with the people I met at INACAP.
Carlos and Mario, being the oldest members of our group, had started families of their own and were in the process of starting a company together. They were getting their MBA’s in order to prepare for the business world. They were trying to figure out ways to get funding for their business and business guidance.
The first problem they expressed facing so far with their entrepreneurial activities had been understanding CORFO’s (Corporación de Fomento de la Producción de Chile) (a.k.a. Production Development Corporation) role in acquiring funds. CORFO is a Chilean governmental organizational that was founded in 1939 with the missions of promoting economic growth in Chile. Carlos and Mario were both extremely frustrated with the complexity of the information interface CORFO used. According to them, the application process for funds is not intuitive and too complex due to lack of clear directions given to applicants. Turns out it is not uncommon for business starters to get a “coach” or mentor to guide them through the process, since self education is very difficult. There needed to be more transparency between CORFO and the public. Another barrier was the old-fashioned perception of what dictates a promising business opportunity. The Chilean government, although wanting to encourage innovation, has been highly risk-averse when subject business is based on a technology and industry unfamiliar to it. Having an economy that is strongly rooted in raw material production, Chile isn’t particularly technology driven. A culture divide is present between the old generation of businessmen and the younger generation, which had differing visions for the future Chilean economy. Another topic of discussion was difficulty to get funding for regions outside Santiago. While Santiago had a booming economy, the rest of Chile was being dismissed. Not to mention the huge interest businessmen had to bear with the credit they took from the government/ banks, if they received it at all.
Our team did not only identify some barriers entrepreneurs were facing in the field but we also suggested some solutions. We believed that better advertising of other credit / funding options, alternate to banks and CORFO, would be very beneficial to upcoming entrepreneurs who are discouraged by lack or inaccessibility of resources. We also suggested that starting the discussion of entrepreneurship earlier in people’s education would help change the old ways of picking a career. Since not a lot of Chileans get the opportunity to go to college, they are never exposed to the concept of entrepreneurship and they are not encouraged to start a business of their own. Expanding the scope of funding from Santiago to the rest of Chile was also critical to supporting entrepreneurial activities all around Chile and giving a uniform boost to the country’s economy.
This exercise had been extremely insightful to all participants. While we learned a lot about business in Chile from the locals, we got to share with them how entrepreneurship was being encouraged and taught in the United States. We, as CWRU students, also shared our findings on entrepreneurship in Chile that we had gathered through our trips to many local businesses, making our group exchanges mutually informative. I am excited to have extended my professional network to Santiago and am looking forward to staying in touch with the people I met at INACAP.