American entrepreneurs learn about Chile's dairy industry and agribusinessPublished: January 11, 2010
Invited by CORFO's InvestChile, under the agrifood cluster program, they visited several regions in the country and learned in detail about the different support mechanisms available to set up businesses in Chile.
Twelve entrepreneurs from the state of California, the majority of whom are primary producers of milk and traditional crops, participated in an intense schedule of activities in the Los Ríos and Los Lagos regions to learn about Chile's dairy industry.
They also took advantage of their time in the country to learn about investment opportunities in agribusiness in the Valparaíso and O'Higgins regions through visits to farms and processing plants, where they were able to talk with their Chilean peers.
The visit was inaugurated in the city of Puerto Varas, where the companies were welcomed by CORFO's regional directors for Los Lagos, Manuel Bagnara, and Los Ríos, Carlos Amtmann.
During the event, Bagnara expressed his confidence that the work carried out over the course of the visit would allow participants to make business decisions. "We believe that this is a highly beneficial activity for them and for the country. We have chosen a series of activities that we know will be of great help in making investments a reality".
CORFO's InvestChile Investment Promotion deputy head, Danilo Sturiza, outlined the institution's work to promote entrepreneurship and innovation in Chile, as well as the cluster system adopted as a strategy to develop the country's productive activities. "The country has a series of incentives to strengthen the different priority productive areas and attract investments. That is what we have shown these Californian entrepreneurs, and we hope that it is fruitful both for them and for Chile".
Over the course of their stay, the entrepreneurs were given important industry-specific information in each of the regions visited, along with a detailed description of the range of CORFO investment promotion instruments.
It should be noted that Chile and the State of California currently have a mutual cooperative agreement. This visit thus reinforces the efforts made by both countries.