The fourth edition of Impulso Chileno, an initiative of the Fundación Luksic, was open for two weeks. This 2021 version doubled the number of winners and will support 200 entrepreneurs from all over Chile with financing and academic support to help them develop their businesses. In this new version, 14,218 thousand applications were received, which will be evaluated and the semi-finalists will be announced in November.
“The more than 14,000 applications we have received from all over Chile motivate us to continue our commitment to support entrepreneurs in a comprehensive manner. In addition, we are especially happy that 60% of the applicants are women. We will continue working so that the 200 winners of this fourth version of Impulso Chileno can get their businesses off the ground,” said Paola Luksic, president of the Fundación Luksic.
Some of the requirements to apply to the fourth version of Impulso Chileno were to be formalized with the initiation of activities in First Category before the Internal Revenue Service (SII in Spanish) and to have annual net sales, or proportional, greater than 200 UF and less than 10,000 UF in the last calendar year (August 2020 to August 2021).
Strength of women and entrepreneurs from the regions
Of the more than 14,000 applications received, the high participation of women entrepreneurs stands out, accounting for 60%, compared to men, who represent 40%.
Likewise, entrepreneurs from regions other than the metropolitan area represent 65% of the total number of applicants. With respect to the regions with the most entrepreneurs, after the Metropolitan Region (35%) is Valparaíso (12%), followed by Biobío (8.2%), Maule (6%) and Los Lagos and La Araucanía, with 5.7% each.
The predominant sectors are food-related businesses (25%), commerce (22%) and services (17%). There are also businesses related to handicrafts, tourism and textiles, among others.
200 winners
The entrepreneurs selected to be part of the fourth version of the competition will be announced the second week of January 2022. The 200 winners will receive funding, between $3 and $5 million pesos, plus academic support, which involves classes taught by the School of Management of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, and personalized mentoring by Corporación Simón de Cirene, an expert in entrepreneurship.
The 1,000 semi-finalists will be announced on November 2nd and the winners during the second week of January, through the contest networks and the website www.impulsochileno.cl.
