IMPULSO CHILENO: THE PROGRAM THAT WILL SUPPORT 250 ENTREPRENEURS IN THE COUNTRY OPENS FOR APPLICATIONS

02 •  oct •  2022

The Luksic Foundation initiative will provide financing -between $3 and $5 million-, training and personalized mentoring to entrepreneurs from all over Chile to boost the growth of their businesses. Applications will be open until Sunday, October 16 at 23:59 hrs at www.impulsochileno.cl.

To provide comprehensive support for entrepreneurs from all over the country to move their businesses forward. This is the purpose of the Luksic Foundation’s Impulso Chileno program, which since 2018 has supported more than 400 entrepreneurs to boost the growth of their businesses, and which today – Monday, October 3 – opens the applications for its fifth version.

This 2022, and aware of the impact that the pandemic has had on the country’s SMEs, Impulso Chileno increased the total number of winners to 250, with a fund to be distributed of up to $1,250 million. Each winner will receive comprehensive support in three components: financing of between $3 million and $5 million, training given by the UC School of Management and mentoring by the Simon de Cyrene Corporation.

“Impulso Chileno seeks to offer an opportunity to all entrepreneurs in the country, so that they can move forward with their dreams. We know that these have been difficult times for businesses and we want to contribute to the boost they need today. In these five years of the program, we have witnessed how men and women, from Arica to Punta Arenas, full of conviction and strength, have taken off with their businesses and have become a reference for their families and communities”, explains Cristián Schalper, director of the Foundation’s Entrepreneurship area.

Requirements and application

The Luksic Foundation’s program seeks to provide a boost and tools to business owners of any type of business, who have started first category activities before the Internal Revenue Service, either as an individual or as a legal entity, prior to April 1, 2022.

In addition, the requirements are: to be over 18 years old, to be Chilean or foreigner domiciled in Chile with definitive residence -duly accredited-, to be the owner or majority shareholder of the business, and to have annual net sales (or proportional if you have less than one year of operation) greater than 200 UF and less than 10,000 UF.

The call will be open until October 16, 2022 and to apply, an online form must be completed at www.impulsochileno.cl. Among all the applications received, 2,500 pre-selected projects will be defined, according to the criteria established in the legal bases (available on the website), which will be announced the first week of November 2022, while the 250 finalists will be announced in January 2023.

Impulso Chileno in numbers

In its four versions, the initiative of the Foundation’s Entrepreneurship area has supported 420 business owners, of which more than 53% are women and 70% come from regions other than the Metropolitan Region.

Tiaren Gacitúa, an entrepreneur from the Ñuble Region, was one of the winners of the fourth edition, with her business Jardín Herbolaria: “Thanks to the program I was able to increase my greenhouse by 400m2 and renovate its entire infrastructure with quality and special material to withstand the cold winter temperatures”. Tiaren also says that in one year she has tripled her sales and that the academic support was fundamental for the consolidation of her business: “with the training and support of the mentor I knew how to organize my business and devise a good value proposition. I invite all entrepreneurs to apply because it is a tremendous opportunity.