The Foundation for Innovation and Business Development (FIDBAN), with the support of the Universidad Europea del Atlántico (European University of the Atlantic, UNEATLANTICO), held its eagerly awaited and successful first Investment Round in Chile. The headquarters of the Ibero-American University Foundation (FUNIBER) in Santiago was the venue that brought together a large group of investors, entrepreneurs and special guests, all united by the goal of promoting innovation in the country.
The event began with a welcome speech by Vivian Lipari, executive director of FUNIBER’s headquarters in Chile, who highlighted the importance of hosting an initiative of this magnitude, emphasising the institution’s commitment to promoting innovation, entrepreneurship and international collaboration. In this context, and to further explore the objectives of the conference, she gave the floor to the director of FIDBAN, Diego Laínz, who emphasised FIDBAN’s mission and international outreach. During his speech, he particularly highlighted the importance and strength of the institutions that make up the foundation’s board of trustees, highlighting the support of the Government of Cantabria and SODERCAN (the Society for the Regional Development of Cantabria). To illustrate this, the ‘Invest in Cantabria’ video was shown, which demonstrated to attendees the benefits and opportunities offered by the Spanish region as a hub for investment and entrepreneurship.
‘Our strength lies in the solid institutional support we have at our core. We have come to Chile to replicate this successful model, connecting incredible local talent with a robust investment network with an international focus,’ said Laínz.
Twelve Projects Seeking to Transform the Future
Led by Vivian Lipari, the conference moved on to the core of the event: the presentation of twelve business projects, previously selected for their high potential. Each entrepreneur had five minutes to present their business model, followed by a round of questions from the investing audience present and connected via streaming on FIDBAN’s YouTube channel.
The diversity and quality of the proposals was the highlight of the event, ranging from artificial intelligence and logistics to sustainability and the creative industries. The projects presented were:
- SMARTPAPER: An Artificial Intelligence tool for teaching and research, presented by its CEO, Sergio Reyes Maldonado.
- TELLEVO APP: A B2B collaborative mobility platform to optimise daily journeys, presented by its co-founder, Juan Jofré Uribe.
- Check WMS: A SaaS platform aimed at digitising warehouse management in Latin America, presented by Antonio Horwath.
- KININ: Expert solutions in ergonomics and occupational health, detailed by its CEO, Gonzalo Ortega Diez.
- RUKOTS: Innovative platform for educational centres and teachers. Its CEO and Founder, José Miguel García, presented his pitch via video as he was unable to attend in person.
- GO DEMOS: A web platform created for the creative and voice industries, presented by CEO Mario Cáceres Moraga and COO Daniela Baeza Castillo.
- TOKENABLE: The first smart tokenisation platform for real assets, presented by its CEO and Founder, Tamara Lara Núñez, and its CTO and Founder, Eduardo Ordaz.
- SELASKI: A SaaS platform designed to help import and export companies, presented by CEO and Co-Founder, José Antonio O’Rian.
- OPTIROUTE: A logistics optimisation SaaS presented by its Founder and CEO, Vanesa Peña Brito.
- MAIFUD: A flexible subscription model that combats food waste, presented by its Founder and CEO, Darío Contreras.
- REBITS: SaaS that enables companies to comply with the Extended Producer Responsibility Law (REP), detailed by its CEO, Rodrigo Salas Valenzuela.
- REITY: The first Chilean platform for investing in tokenised real estate assets. Francisco Pérez presented his project via video from California.
After the presentations, Diego Laínz formally closed the round of presentations, giving way to a networking coffee break. This space was essential for investors to talk directly with entrepreneurs, fulfil FIDBAN’s central objective and kick off the event, which ended at 12:30 p.m.
This event would not have been possible without the valuable collaboration of important institutions that support the entrepreneurial ecosystem: 3IE (from the Federico Santa María Technical University), SERCOTEC, ProAconcagua, the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Chile, Conexión Mujeres and Finis Terrae University, all committed to the development and promotion of innovation in the country.
The success of this first round of investment not only validates the FIDBAN model, but also marks the beginning of a new stage of opportunities for the innovation ecosystem in Chile.