Despite the decline in the evaluation of pro-entrepreneurship policies, entrepreneurship in Chile continues its upward trend: one in four adult Chileans is involved in starting and managing a new business.
In Chile, 26.8%
of the adult population aged between 18 and 64 years is considered an early
stage entrepreneur and 8.8% an established entrepreneur. This exceeds the average
of 8.9% in the OECD countries present in the GEM 2014 programme.
The report was
launched on 25 May and was discussed by the Minister of Economy, Luis Felipe
Céspedes, who stressed the importance of the GEM report.
"Having good information allows us to improve the design of our policies
and is of great importance to the country."
According to the
report, Chile has seen an increase in number of start-ups, of which José
Ernesto Amorós, Executive Director of the Entrepreneurship Institute and GEM
Chile project director, says "entrepreneurship in Chile continues to grow;
we are the OECD country which has the largest number of adults involved in
entrepreneurship activities. Chileans are also starting businesses in addition
to their paid employment”.
It is also noteworthy
that 81.2% are opportunity-driven entrepreneurs; 17.6% are
necessity-driven.
The Chilean entrepreneur is around
40 years old and middle class. Approximately
half are developing businesses selling goods or services.
In addition, 47% of entrepreneurs in the early stages and 41% of established entrepreneurs
consider that their businesses offer products or services that are new to their
customers.
The GEM project
has contributed to understanding the entrepreneurial and innovative ecosystem
in Chile, and has been a useful guide for many policy-makers.
According to
the perceptions of nearly 400 experts consulted across the country, access to
financing has become more difficult with the exception of public subsidies.
However, the overall assessment of public policies and pro-entrepreneurship programs
has decreased in value compared to last year.