Impulso Inicial opens new call for proposals to support entrepreneurs engaged in manual and artisanal trades throughout Chile
- The Luksic Foundation’s program seeks to give a boost to traditional entrepreneurs who are in the initial stages of their business. The call will be open from September 2 to 16 at www.fundacionluksic.cl.
“Welder by profession and craftsman at heart”. The hands of Lorenzo López, an entrepreneur from Parral, reveal years of experience, strength and the ability to handle tools with precision and skill to give life to new objects. There are days when his fingers hide soot stains but also a dazzling creativity to transform iron into a beautiful and functional art.
“My business consists of reusing, taking something that had a life, that fulfilled a utility and I make it a craft, a decorative work for the home. What for some is a waste for me is an opportunity to give it another life,” explains the entrepreneur owner and founder of Artesanías en Fierro (@artesaniasenfierro_ on Instagram).
Two years ago, in search of a boost for his business, he applied to the Luksic Foundation’s Impulso Inicial program, where he was one of those selected. “When I found out I won, it was pure joy. It was something unattainable for me because the equipment they gave me was very expensive. Now the production in my work is much faster, more efficient and the quality of my work is much better,” says Lorenzo.
He received a plasma cutter that has allowed him to increase his sales by 50%, a machine that, in his words, “changed his life”: “When I deliver my work to the customer, it fills me with happiness to see his face because they see a job that is done neatly with love and affection. Everything I forge with my hands, is to make it known to people, because this is forged with love, with all the impetus of the iron artisan”, says the entrepreneur.
New call for entrepreneurs of manual trades and handicrafts
Lorenzo is part of the more than 14,000 entrepreneurs that since 2018 have been supported by Fundación Luksic with the aim of delivering a concrete and direct contribution to men and women who need to boost their businesses and increase their sales. The Impulso Inicial program provides machinery and/or semi-industrial tools, so that entrepreneurs can professionalize their production processes, as well as personalized training in formalization, digital marketing, administration and costs to enhance business management.
“Through our programs and initiatives we seek to contribute to the development of the country through the training of people. We want our country’s entrepreneurs to have tools and training opportunities to enhance all their capabilities and unleash their full potential,” explains Cristián Schalper, director of the Luksic Foundation’s Entrepreneurship area.
Application requirements
Impulso Inicial seeks to support owners of traditional businesses that have a periodic and constant operation. Although it is not required to have started activities before the SII, the business must have been in operation for at least six months and the applicant must have a valid Social Household Registry card (RSH).
For this call it is a requirement that the enterprise is related to manual and artisanal trades, that is to say, it must be in the areas of stationery, sublimation, stamping, goldsmithing and/or handicrafts.
The call for applications will be open from Monday, September 2 through Monday, September 16 and interested parties can review the legal basesand apply at www.fundacionluksic.cl.
