Corfo to present Chile's US$200M fund-of-funds bill for startups at a Santiago event
The bill lets Corfo invest as a minority partner in venture funds: up to US$60 million of state money over three years to draw US$140 million from private investors.
Chile's development agency Corfo will hold the event "Impulso Start-Up: Capital para crecer" on Thursday, 12 November, in Santiago, according to elmostrador.cl. Authorities, venture capital representatives and startup ecosystem participants will discuss investment opportunities in Chile. The central item is the Fondo de Fondos bill, which provides up to US$60 million of state funds over three years to attract another US$140 million from private investors elmostrador.cl
elmostrador.clelmostrador.clOpen source ↗.
Access to financing remains one of the main challenges for Chilean startups, especially when they try to expand operations and enter new markets. The bill is meant to widen the tools for connecting entrepreneurs with investors.
What the bill provides
The bill was submitted to Congress in late October. It would allow Corfo to take part as a minority investor in venture capital funds. According to ecosistemastartup.com, there are two routes. The first is a fund of funds managed by an asset manager (AGF) and supervised by the CMF, which pools money from several investors and places it in different venture funds. Corfo would be an anchor investor with up to 35% of the stake. The second route is a direct contribution to national funds, capped at 30%, with the other contributors required to put in at least 2.3 pesos for each peso from Corfo.
The text proposes capitalising US$25 million in the first year; later amounts would be set in each annual Budget Law. The first fund under consideration would total US$200 million: US$60 million from Corfo and US$140 million from institutional investors. It would distribute capital among six to ten venture funds, holding about 20% of each, according to the Ministry of Economy presentation as reported by DF. The authorisation would run for 10 years for direct contributions and 15 years for the fund of funds, with an evaluation every seven years.
Event programme
Minister of Economy and Mining Daniel Mas will give the opening remarks, and Corfo executive vice president José Mujica will present the scope of the initiative elmostrador.cl
elmostrador.clelmostrador.clOpen source ↗. A panel, "Impulso Start-Up: Oportunidades para el desarrollo de startups e inversión en Chile", will bring together Cristóbal Silva, chair of the Venture Capital Commission of Acafi, and Agustín Feuerhake, co-founder of Fintual. It will be moderated by Ángeles Romo, venture capital adviser at Corfo, and will cover industry challenges, ways to attract investment and the development of new technology companies.
The session runs from 11:15 to 12:30 at Cowork Start-Up Chile, San Isidro 85, 9th floor, Santiago, and ends with a Q&A with attendees. Registration is through the organisers' form. According to DF, Mujica expects most of the investment to take place between 2028 and 2030.
