Fifteen Chilean Women Entrepreneurs and Thought Leaders Discuss Business and Innovation With the Most Prestigious Technology Companies and Organizations in Silicon Valley

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Fifteen Chilean women entrepreneurs will be in Silicon Valley this week to meet with Google, Facebook, Indiegogo, Springboard Enterprises, Singularity University, and other organizations, as well as investors. With the goal of encouraging a knowledge and technology transfer between Latin America and the United States, the trip will gather the women entrepreneurs with successful Silicon Valley experts and groups whose experience will enrich the entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem in Chile. According to a 2013 report by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Chile is the top Latin American country that offers female entrepreneurs the most favorable overall business environment.

"Chile is a country that excels in providing us, women, with an environment of increasing recognition to our innovative ideas in regards to business, entrepreneurship and economic development," said Barbara Silva, organizer of the trip, BSTinnovation founder, and alumnus of Singularity University. "Our participation in this trip shows that we are at a level in which we can meet with some of the top technology organizations in the world, and we're glad to have our country's support," added Silva.

ProChile is co-sponsoring this Women Business & Innovation Trip, which is one of the many activities it is involved in to enable innovators to internationalize their business knowledge and to create relationships with the U.S. Other programs that have been put in place by the government are ContactChile, which helps businesses in Chile establish a foothold in other countries for their innovative products or services, having impacted about 100 businesses since last year, and StartUpChile from Corfo, which brings Chilean and foreign entrepreneurs together to Chile to establish their businesses there in exchange for an economic incentive, a one-year work visa and their commitment to community involvement. This program has impacted more than 670 startups from 64 countries since it was launched.

"We have embarked on an aggressive agenda to promote innovation and entrepreneurship to foster a vibrant business environment within our country that also attracts investors from other nations," stated Francisco Correa, Trade Commissioner of ProChile in California. "The world rankings and EIU's report show how well we have been able to position ourselves through hard work, and this group of women entrepreneurs embodies the leaders that we want to continue to shape so that they help us to make our country even better and stronger."

The Women Business & Innovation Trip is taking place from August 20 to 25 and is organized by BSTinnovation, along with Capital Magazine and Chile Telefonica. The participants include entrepreneurs and thought leaders from different industries, including technology, media, education, wine, among others. The trip participants are: Barbara Silva, BSTinnovation founder, Women@TheFrontier Latin America Director, Women Business & Innovation Trip organizer; Paula Urenda, Capital Magazine General Manager; Alejandra Mustakis, Ibetek Director; Maria Jose Lopez,  Ibetek; Susana Carey, Chile Supermarkets CEO; Yael Gottlieb, Alcantara Alicante Educational Group Manager of Innovation; Denise Mahias, Redes de Innovacion General Manager; Paula Figueroa, Chile Telefonica Marketing Director; Alicia Hidalgo, Chile National Television Business Director; Laura Bertolotto,  Valdivia de Santo Tomas Provost; Melissa Hohmann, Hohmann & Associates Partner; Pia Ramirez, plus Hunting Partner; Liliana Fernandez, Gabriel & Mary Mustakis Foundation Manager of Education; Mariela Cordova, Corcia General Manager; and Veronica Hahn, Vina Maipo Marketing Manager

CHILE, BEST PLACE TO DO BUSINESS IN LATIN AMERICA:

• Most innovative country in South America: 2013 Global Innovation Index of the World Intellectual Property Organization and INSEAD Business School.
• Most competitive economy in Latin America: WEF Global Competitive Index 2012-2013; #1 in LatAm on the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index 2012 and on EIU's Business Environment Ranking.
• Fertile ground for business: Chile set up 67,000 new companies in 2012, from 58,000 in 2011; and the Chilean Congress approved an initiative that enables all people to start a company in one day, at zero cost and online.

About ProChile: ProChile is the institution of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile responsible for promoting exports of goods and services. ProChile also contributes to encourage foreign investments and tourism in Chile. It has a network of over 50 trade offices worldwide and 15 regional offices throughout the country, with specialized teams that contribute to positioning Chile's attributes in international markets. ProChile also provides first-class information and diverse tools to exporters for a better business management abroad and detects business opportunities for importers as well. In the U.S., ProChile has representatives strategically located in Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and Washington D.C.

For more information please visit http://www.prochile.gob.cl/importers.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Yazmine Esparza
[email protected] 
(202)729-4205

SOURCE ProChile