SANTIAGO INNOVA
The goal of Santiago Innova is "To promote the development and consolidation of the entrepreneurial sector located in Santiago through the provision of specialized means, networks and support, focused mainly to the Small and Medium Sized Companies (PYMES), consistent with the national economic policy of incorporation of added value and according to the Strategic Development Plan of the City of Santiago".
The central goal of SANTIAGO INNOVA, is to become a facilitator of the development of new companies from the ideas and projects which entrepreneurs develop, as well as to promote those currently existing which are looking for new businesses, products or services.
STRUCTURE OF THE CENTRE
SANTIAGO INNOVA comprises (6) Business Units, namely:
- Company Incubation Unit
- Company Consultancy and Technical Assistance Unit
- Clean Production and Industrial Decontamination Unit
- Education and Training Unit
- Business Development Unit
- Research and Projects Unit
RESOURCES AVAILABLE AT SANTIAGO INNOVA
A multidisciplinary team composed by:
- 4 Civil Industrial Engineers
- 2 Economists
- Civil Information Technology Engineer
- Lawyer
- Social Worker
- Accountant
- 2 Business Management Technicians
- 3 Secretaries
- Telephone operator
- Messenger
- 4 part-time Civil Engineers and Economists
INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITY
Infrastructure of 2.700 sq. m, distributed in:
- 23 offices ranging from 15 to 50 sq. m, a 140 sq. m office and a 280 sq. m for the installation of innovative companies
Administrative services pool:
- Photocopier, Fax, Messenger, Secretary, Security, Warehouses, Meeting Rooms, Computers Room (20 computes), Events and Training Hall, parking area and gardens, among others.
- Connection to the INTERNET of 4.300 bps via commuted link with BellSouth.
- 50 MB WEB server space in Canada
CHILE IN A FEW WORDS
Population:
- According to National Statistics Institute or INE, our country has a population of more than 15 million people.
- Women constitute more than 50% of this figure. At the moment, Chile presents an annual population growth of 1.5%.
- The Metropolitan region, which is the capital of the nation, represents the 32% of the total population of the country.
Geography:
Chile is situated between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean in a narrow stretch of land that does not exceed a maximum width of 350 kilometers. The country extends from its frontiers with Peru and Bolivia in the north till the Antarctic territories where we have various military and scientific bases. These, in turn, constitute the Chilean Antarctic Territories. The maximum extension of our territories reaches a 4329 kilometers.
Contrast and diversity characterizes our geography. In the north, the climate conditions the existence of the most ardent desert in the world located in the Atacama region. While in the center and the south of Chile, green and fertile valleys multiply and provide fruits and vegetables for the population and the international markets that are used to the high quality of our fruits, wines and grapes among others.
Government system:
Chile is a Republic governed by a democratic government. There is a clear delimitation and independence of the three powers of the state. The President of the republic, who is also the Head of State, exercises the Executive power. The Judicial power is exercised by the Supreme Court, which enforces the justice and is supported by the Appeals Court. The legislative power is bicameral. It is constituted by the Chamber of Deputies and Senators. The former is constituted by 20 deputies representing the 13 regions of the country, while the latter, the high Chamber, is constituted by 49 Senators.
The three powers of the state carry on their activities according to the Political Constitution of the State 1980. The Constitution has been periodically reformed with the objective to faithfully accommodate the changes that our society has underwent since the return of Chile to democratic rule in 1990, a date when Patricio Aylwin has assumed the presidency of the Republic.
Official Currency:
The official currency of Chile is the Chilean Peso. Its approximate value against the US$ is 700 pesos for each dollar.
Official language:
The official language is Spanish. However, there are certain indigenous groups in the north of the country that still maintain their original language.
Religion:
80% of the population are Catholics. However, the state is atheist yet respectful of the faiths of other religions.
Food:
The typical food preparation is principally based in meat, potatoes, maize and fruits and vegetables. The extended shores provide us with delicious fish and seafood amongst which are salmon, trout, eel, sea scallops and lobsters.
CHILE, A COUNTRY OF OPPORTUNITIES
Chile is one of the most dynamic and promising markets in Latin America. Its strength and attractions are not found in its size, but in the energy and professionalism of its businessmen, the transparency of its regulations and the predictability of its market decisions.
At present, Chile occupies the 15th place in world in terms of international competitiveness, according to the World Economic Forum. It also has the best risk free qualification country in Latin America: A- according to Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ibaca and Baa1 according to Moody's.
In spite of the fact that the Copper represents the major exports income for the country and that foreign investments are basically concentrated in the mining sector, the fishing sector and forest and fresh fruit products also form an important part of the commercial balance.
A growing and diversified economy with strong commercial relations with Europe, Asia and America has given Chile an excellent rank of options for future growth and sustained prosperity.
The majority of the annalists coincide that the prudent economical policy has insured a long term stability that cannot be found in other Latin American countries.
The privatization program, initiated in 1974, has been a catalyst for investments in Chile for the last two decades. This process was complimented by the governmental goals to reduce state intervention in the economy, such is the case of the adoption an austere fiscal spending policy.
In spite of the Asian crisis and its repercussions in other countries, especially in emerging economies, Chile continues to grow even though at a minor rate in comparison with the growth rates registered during the first 7 years of the 90s decade, which reached an average of 7.3%.
In 1999, the Gross Internal Product decreased 1.1%, hoped to recuperate this year with an increase of 6% of the Chilean economy with which Chile will duplicate it income per capita in terms of purchasing power.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and important international annalists estimate that Chile not only will be between the first countries that will completely recuperate from the effects of the international financial crisis but also sustain that the social, economical and macroeconomic stability- which brought it to experiment an accelerated growth- have not been altered.
METROPOLITAN REGION OF SANTIAGO
The Santiago Metropolitan Region (in Spanish, Región Metropolitana de Santiago) is a landlocked administrative region in central Chile. It is the most populated region and contains the nation's capital, Santiago. Most commercial and administrative centers are located in this region, including Chile's main international airport, Arturo Merino Benítez.
Over 4,5 million people live in Chile´s capital, Santiago. Its is one of the most modern cities of South America. This modernity reflects on its building, subway and big green areas. This is a place you cannot forget to visit.
Only two hours away from the sea coast, you will find a city that combines urban and suburban settlement, with a beautiful view of the Cordillera de los Andes.
Santiago is Chile's capital and largest city. It is situated at an elevation of 520 m (1700 ft) in the country's central valley, and administratively is a part of the Santiago Metropolitan Region. Even though Santiago is the capital, legislative bodies meet in nearby Valparaíso.
Approximately two decades of uninterrupted economic growth have transformed Santiago into one of Latin America's most sophisticated metropolitan areas, with extensive suburban development, dozens of shopping malls, and impressive high-rise architecture.
The city also boasts some of Latin America's most spectacular infrastructure, such as the Santiago Metro and the sparkling new "Costanera Norte," a freeway system that passes below downtown and connects the Eastern and Western extremes of the city in 15 minutes. Santiago is headquarters to many important companies and is a regionally important financial center.
Santiago has a mild Mediterranean climate: relatively hot dry summers (November to March) with temperatures reaching up to 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) on the hottest days; winters (June to August) are more humid, with typical maximum daily temperatures of 15 degrees Celsius (59 degrees Fahrenheit), and minimums of a few degrees above freezing. Ocasional snowfall occur on higher suburbs of the city. Mean rainfall is 338 mm per year.
Thermal inversion (a meteorological phenomenon whereby a stable layer of warm air holds down colder air close to the ground) causes high levels of smog and air pollution to be trapped and concentrate within the Central Valley during winter months. In the 1990s air pollution fell by about one-third, but there has been little progress since 2000.
The Mapocho river, which crosses the city from the north-east to the south-west of the Central Valley, is contaminated by industrial and household sewage, dumped unfiltered into the river, and by upstream copper-mining waste (there are a number of copper mines in the Andes east of Santiago). The central government recently passed a law that forces industry and local governments to process all their wastewater by 2006. There are now a number of large wastewater processing and recycling plants under construction. There are ongoing plans to decontaminate the river and make it navigable.
Sound levels on the main streets are high, mostly because of noisy diesel buses. Diesel trucks and buses are also major contributors to winter smog. A lengthy replacement process of the bus system began in 2005 and will last until 2010 (see Transportation section below).
ECONOMY
Santiago is the most important industrial and financial center of Chile. It generates 45 percent of the country's GDP. Also, the city is, along with Buenos Aires and São Paulo, one of the biggest financial centers of South America. Some international institutions, such as ECLAC (Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean), have their offices in Santiago. In recent years, due to the strong growth and stability of the Chilean economy, many multinational companies have chosen Santiago as the place for their headquarters in the region, like HP, Reuters, JP Morgan, Intel, Coca-Cola, Unilever, Nestlé, Kodak, BHP Billiton, IBM, Motorola, Microsoft, Ford, Yahoo!, and many more.
Santiago's national and international airport is Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport and ranks high regionally in terms of quality. Trains operated by Chile's national railway, Empresa de los Ferrocarriles del Estado, connect Santiago to Puerto Montt, in the central-southern part of the country, and to the North they connect the capital with the city of Iquique. All such trains arrive and depart from the Estación Central ("Central Station").
Private inter-urban bus companies provide excellent and cheap transportation from Santiago to virtually any part of the country. There are also several new inter-urban toll highways connecting the city's extremes including the Vespucio Highway (which surrounds the city describing a semi-circle), The Ruta 5 (which crosses the city in North-South direction) and the Costanera Norte (which runs from the eastern side in Las Condes to the western in Pudahuel).
Santiago's urban passenger transportation system include an extensive, if chaotic, privately run bus service as well as a publicly owned subway. The buses are known as micros (for microbus) and are typically colored yellow.
This bus system is in the process of being completely replaced by early 2007 by a new system which includes new routes and larger, newer buses, with a better payment system (Multivia card), compatible with the subway (see Transantiago).
The subway is clean and safe and has five operating lines but their coverage is still somewhat limited towards the southern and northern edges of the city.
The Government just inaugurated two additional subway lines (Line 4 and 4a), but it is still being expanded, and is building extensions to Lines 1 and 2 (see Santiago Metro).
Taxicabs can usually be found on the streets and are painted black with yellow roofs; unmarked taxis may be called up by telephone (Radiotaxis). Colectivos are shared taxicabs that carry passengers along a specific route, for a fixed fee.
Currently under construction is the Costanera Center, a mega project in Santiago's Financial District. This includes a 280 000 square meter mall, a 300 meter tower, two office towers of 170 meters each, and a hotel 105 meters tall. When completed in 2010 it will be the tallest building in South America. Near Costanera Center another skyscraper is being built, Titanium La Portada, and this will be 190 meters tall. Although these are the two biggest projects, there are many other office buildings under construction in Santiago, as well as hundreds of high rise residential buildings.
POLITICAL DIVISIONS
Greater Santiago extends throughout 37 municipalities and covered 64.140 ha in 2002. The majority of Santiago lies within the same named province, with some peripheral areas contained in the provinces of Talagante, Maipo and Cordillera. Specifically, Santiago joins the cities of San Bernardo (Maipo province) and Puente Alto (Cordillera province) to form the Greater Santiago conurbation.
The province of Santiago is divided into 32 municipalities (comunas in Spanish). Each municipality in Chile is headed by a mayor (alcalde) elected by voters every four years. The members of the municipal council (concejales) are elected in the same election on a separate ballot.
The 32 municipalities are:
Cerrillos, Conchalí, Cerro Navia, El Bosque, Estación Central, Huechuraba, Independencia, La Cisterna, La Florida, La Granja, La Pintana, La Reina, Las Condes, Lo Barnechea, Lo Espejo, Lo Prado, Macul, Maipú, Ñuñoa, Pedro Aguirre Cerda, Peñalolén, Pudahuel, Providencia, Quilicura, Quinta Normal, Renca, Recoleta, San Joaquín, San Miguel, San Ramón, Santiago Centro, and Vitacura.
MOST IMPORTANT SERVICES
Euro Office Basic Service (Category 1, 2 or 3)
Business Incubation Unit
- Business incubator
- Risk Capital Funds
Legal Services Unit
- Incorporation
- Corporations, contracts, agreements, among other instruments
Employment Unit
- Workforce reinsertion
- Subsidies for hiring unemployed
Consultancy and Business (PYMES) Unit
- Subsidized individual and group consultant services
- Execution of Research and Technology Development projects
- Technological and business missions abroad
Microenterprise Unit
- Reinsertion into the independent workforce
- Small business loans
Professional and Technical Services
- Permanent and personalized consultants (Legal, technological, commercial, marketing, accounting and financial, among others)
- Training Program
- Entrepreneur Development Plan
- Technological Development Plan
- Business Plan
- Market Studies
- Participation in trade shows and commercial and technological missions
- Links to financing sources
LINKS TO MOST IMPORTANT WBSITES OF OUR REGION
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chile