A successful end to a project that promoted local entrepreneurship

abril 15, 2024

The initiative led by UCM, Grupo Zenit, and AIEP’s professional institute brought together more than 300 people during its execution.

The crème de la crème in the designing, launching, and managing new businesses participated in the seminars, workshops, talks, and bootcamps held by Grupo Zenit. This was part of the «Yakana AgroConnect» project.

The initiative, which brought together more than 300 people, ended with a massive day at the Universidad Católica del Maule.

«We ended it very successfully and with more attendees than expected. We had spectacular presentations with a focus on dynamic entrepreneurship. It was an opportunity to learn,» said the Director of Innovation, Development and Technology Transfer, Fabiola Loyola.

The event addressed the construction of sustainable ventures, from creating businesses and creating connections with large companies, to raising capital.

«It was a recap activity of Yakana Connect and Agroconnect, where we highlighted the importance of academia and working with academics and students, who are really advanced in this area and who now understand that sometimes they will not have the role of founder, but perhaps a more advisory one, to get the business off the ground,» said Grupo Zenit’s Innovation Manager, Marcelo Gonzalez.

«Yakana Agroconnect» was one of the three projects promoted by the consulting firm, with funding from Corfo’s «Viraliza» program and the support of the professional institute AIEP.

«We have the look of the territory and we work Yakana in three regions: O’Higgins, Tarapacá and Maule, where we focused on agri-food in some activities,» added the commercial engineer.

The Zenit Group has experience in the promotion of local and sustainable enterprises that give rise to quality jobs. This effort was titled «Yakana», invoking a constellation that the native peoples of the Andean area recognized in their astronomy, believing that mythological animals associated with abundance and prosperity lived there.

«A virtuous circle was generated where academia contributes knowledge and research, while another party articulates it. Thanks to the ‘Viraliza’ instrument, which, current to the times, is very focused on gender equity, we were able to share experiences, transmit knowledge and develop competencies,» said the regional director (S) of Corfo, Pablo Elvenberg.

Among the renowned speakers who led events of the initiative were the Argentine economist Agustín Campero and the Brazilian consultant of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Elizabeth Ritter.

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