An insightful Huffington Post article entitled, “Why Silicon Valley Should Write Chile a Much Deserved Thank You Note” piqued the attention of our AndesBeat team recently. Read the full article here.
In the article, Patrick McGinnis, a New York-based investor and entrepreneur, insightfully remarks on what we here in Chile have known all along: That US entrepreneurs have derived significant benefits from the world-renowned Start-Up Chile accelerator program. In his article, Patrick notes that: “For businesses with global ambitions, Chile serves as a low-costs laboratory where a team can test and refine its value proposition.”
Patrick goes on to note that the Start-Up Chile program has been a boon to US entrepreneurs and the Chilean economy alike. The accelerator program has had a wide-reaching impact on the innovation landscape of Chile, a country which a few years ago had an entrepreneurial ecosystem that was lagging behind compared to other Latin American countries. Patrick asserts: “Chile has abandoned its old spot in the innovation wasteland and is now known as a growing global hub for entrepreneurship.”
The article ends by saying, “Venture capital investors in the United States are notoriously provincial, but they’d be wise to get on a plane and see what’s happening in Santiago. To find the next generation of exciting start-ups, they may need to look beyond Silicon Valley and Silicon Alley and check out what’s happening in Santiago’s Chilecon Valley.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves!
