The initiative offers students from various universities, professional institutes and technical training centers in the region access to a comprehensive program that includes specialized support in all the initial stages of the entrepreneurial process for the development of their startups.

Creating a startup culture through the development of high added value activities for the regional community of Higher Education students - made up of more than forty thousand students - is one of the main objectives of the “Coquimbo Startup Ecosystem” program, supported by CORFO, through its Environment Support Program for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (PAEI), and executed by the University of La Serena, through its Entrepreneurship Office.

Another purpose of the initiative is to offer students from various universities, professional institutes and technical training centers in the Coquimbo Region, access to a comprehensive program that considers specialized support in all the initial stages of the entrepreneurial process for development. of their startups.

The action fronts of the program are the generation of a climate of regional entrepreneurship in the community of Higher Education students in the region; the installation of capacities and the development of entrepreneurship skills in Higher Education students in the Coquimbo Region, through the creation of a training program called "E-Startup Academy"; the generation of a Regional Network of Mentors; and carrying out concrete actions to enable financing options for regional startups. 

The presentation of this program took place at the Central House of the University of La Serena and was attended by regional authorities and representatives of the universities, professional institutes and technical training centers of the region, who were able to discuss the strategic importance of working together and in a network to ensure that students who dare to undertake, find fertile ground and an ecosystem that welcomes them.

The representatives of the regional ministerial secretariat of Economy, CORFO, U. de La Serena, U. Católica del Norte (Coquimbo headquarters), U. Pedro de Valdivia (La Serena headquarters), were present at the meeting and committed to active participation. U. of Aconcagua (La Serena headquarters), Santo Tomás Institutions (La Serena and Ovalle headquarters), INACAP (La Serena headquarters), IP AIEP (La Serena headquarters), IP Providencia (La Serena headquarters), IP La Araucana (La Serena headquarters Serena), IP Chile (La Serena headquarters), CFT CEDUC UCN (Coquimbo headquarters) and CFT Juan Bohon. 

The academic vice-rector of the ULS, Dr. Jorge Catalán, said that “it is very relevant for a state university like ours to be able to summon representatives of Higher Education institutions to an initiative that has to do with regional and national development. , which integrates the efforts of the public and private sectors, and links education with social and productive development; This initiative will allow, among other things, to develop collaborative work between the institutions of the region, which can have an important impact in terms of giving a seal, an imprint of the students of our region as entrepreneurs and people who will be able develop projects of great social and productive benefit.” 

Meanwhile, the regional director of CORFO, Andrés Sánchez, described the development of this program as a milestone, pointing out that “it is no coincidence that CORFO has determined and wanted to support this way of working, because we believe that we need a dynamic entrepreneurship ecosystem that It has to be focused on the association between Higher Education institutions”, adding that with this initiative a basis and a platform is being provided for a development with sufficient strength at the regional level, focused on the needs of the region and responding to them. .

For his part, the Minister of Economy, Miguel Sánchez, highlighted the high attendance of this meeting and stated that “it is very important to strengthen entrepreneurship capabilities, but an innovative entrepreneurship; "We have to be able to put experience and knowledge into those new entrepreneurs (...), and stimulate young people so that we can take a step forward in this possibility of entrepreneurship." 

Regarding the activities to be developed, the person in charge of the Entrepreneurship Office of the state campus, Mg. Orlando Robles, specified that this program that has brought together the higher education institutions in the region, contemplates the development of two entrepreneurship academies and a series of massive events for entrepreneurs, in addition to the formation of a network of mentors and the qualification of the financing cycle for regional startups. The professional added that another important challenge is to give permanence to the institutional network over time, pointing out that “we want the participating institutions to generate initiatives for the following years. This network seeks to unite educational institutions with private companies, the public sector and civil society.”

The program, which will act as orchestrator of the Higher Education Startup Ecosystem of the Coquimbo Region, represents a continuity of the efforts that the Regional Government and CORFO have made to develop a Startup Ecosystem in the region.