For the fourth consecutive year, Corfo launches calls for its Semilla programs with an exclusive gender focus. On this occasion, the Corporation announced the new call from Semilla Inicia Mujeres and Semilla Expande Mujeres to continue contributing to equity within the national entrepreneurship ecosystem by supporting entrepreneurs from all over the country, who have business ideas with social, economic and environmental impact. .
“These calls are contained within the gender equality strategy that we recently updated at Corfo and are important tools to advance in reducing systemic and cultural barriers that women face when starting a business, such as the time available to dedicate to their work. business and the discrimination that still persists in the market, in addition to wage gaps and access to employment. From there, promoting innovative female entrepreneurship with this type of actions contributes to illuminating the incredible contribution of women in society,” said Corfo Entrepreneurship Manager, Carmen Contreras.
The regional director of Corfo Ñuble, Macarena Dávila, pointed out the importance of facilitating greater opportunities for women to develop innovative projects and urged entrepreneurs in the region to apply for these programs. “At Ñuble we have many talented entrepreneurs, with innovative ideas and tremendous potential to develop them. That is why, at Corfo, we are working to facilitate access to co-financing for entrepreneurship and innovation projects and in this way move more effectively and quickly towards gender equality and greater economic development in our society.”
The 2024 call for Semilla Inicia Mujeres is aimed at female entrepreneurs seeking to transform a business idea into reality, with high growth potential. They must be innovative projects that are in the idea phase, or with a functional prototype already developed, but not yet sold. As support, the co-financing offered by this instrument is up to 85%, with a limit of $17 million per initiative.
Meanwhile, Semilla Expande Mujeres seeks to support innovative ventures, which are active and led by women, to expand their horizons towards new markets, being able to achieve commercial takeoff both nationally and internationally. To this end, Corfo offers co-financing of up to 85% of the total cost of the project, with a limit of up to $28.3 million and with the possibility of a second stage, which delivers up to an additional $22.6 million.
In its 2023 call for Semilla Inicia Mujeres and Semilla Expande Mujeres, Corfo approved 75 female entrepreneurship projects, from 15 regions of the country, with financing of more than $1,510 million in total. The Metropolitan Region, Valparaíso, Biobío, La Araucanía and Los Ríos stand out in the number of initiatives supported.
“The role we have at Corfo as a public entity is, through these instruments, to contribute concretely to making visible and combating the gaps and barriers that women entrepreneurs face in this area of the economy, seeking to generate a change in society so that The entrepreneurs and innovators of the future do not have to experience these difficulties,” emphasized Carmen Contreras.
The 2024 call for Semilla Expande Mujeres will be open until May 14, 2024, while Semilla Inicia Mujeres will close on May 15, 2024, both at 4:00 p.m. and will have orientation sessions broadcast online via Corfo’s YouTube, where they will be given. basic guidelines on the application process, promptly guiding those who want to participate in these calls.
The dates of these orientations are as follows:
Semilla Inicia Mujeres April 24 and May 8 from 11:00 a.m.
Semilla Expandes Women April 25 and May 9 from 11:00 a.m.
For more information regarding the programs, updates or questions, you can visit www.corfo.cl
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