I am very impressed with Start-Up Chile. It is a Chilean Government run program that attracts early stage, high-potential entrepreneurs to bootstrap their startups in Chile, using it as a platform to go global. The goal of the program is to position Chile as the leading innovation and entrepreneurial hub of Latin America.

Silicon Valley provides huge benefits to the USA economy. Many countries are envious of this advantage and wish they could gain such economic benefits. But there is a big gulf between wishing and accomplishing. That path requires doing many things right.

Start-Up Chile alone is but a small step in the right direction. But it is a very interesting one. And they have kept it up for several years now. It is amazing how many efforts to create inviting climates for entrepreneurs start with a great flourish as diminish to nothing within 5 years.

Panoramic view of northeastern Santiago, as seen from the hills of Parque Metropolitano in Providencia. Visible in the background are Apoquindo and Sierra de Ramón. via wikimedia

For the current application (open during the month of September) Startup Chile is looking especially for startups in robotics; healthcare and biotech; clean energy; and education.

In my opinion the benefit for entrepreneurs is worthwhile (and especially strong for those in Latin America) but I am even more impressed with the sense the Chilean government is showing for talking concrete steps to boost the entrepreneurship climate in Chile. There are quite a few very good efforts to incubate startups. Few government though are doing much beyond talk. Singapore is another country that is taking fairly smart actions (which isn’t so surprising given Singapore’s long term evidence of smart government).

Many countries understand the benefits of creating a strong climate for entrepreneurs. And given the especially easy location independence of internet based businesses there is a public relations battle for attracting these entrepreneurs (even if most countries don’t seem to have caught onto this reality).

Chile has been getting great publicity from Startup Chile and if they can successfully build on that success they will gain a very nice advantage at very little cost. Like so many startups the Startup Chile program itself has to make sure it builds from the base it has built instead of just fading away.

Related: Finding an International Business Bank as a Digital Nomad – Transfer Money Between Currencies Using New Providers, Not Banks, and Save – Leading Economic Freedom: Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland (Chile was ranked 10th in the world) – International Migrants: Economics and Banking