Research Question
In 2010, the Chilean government’s economic development agency, la Corporación de Fomento de la Produccion (CORFO), developed a publicly funded start-up accelerator called Start-Up Chile. Start-up accelerators are short-term, cohort-based programs that equip promising start-ups with access to entrepreneurial mentors, venture capitalist networks, and a plethora of other resources. However, these programs are mainly popular in Western countries, and are typically run by private investors who obtain considerable equity in the participants in return. On top of being entirely funded and administered by the Chilean government without any type of return, the Start-Up Chile program is unique in that it is also considered the first start-up accelerator launched in Latin America. The government’s aim for this program has been to incentivize greater innovation and entrepreneurship within its economy, in hopes to position Chile as a technological and entrepreneurial hub within Latin America. Given these goals, has Start-Up Chile tangibly contributed to the development of Chile’s entrepreneurial ecosystem? While the program could have had many different types of spill-over effects, I will focus on two particular impacts:
- Has the policy helped increase access to venture capital, a vital input to successful start-ups, in Chile?
- In addition, has the program had any impact on the entrepreneurial activity of Chileans and their propensity to launch start-ups?
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