At the end of November, the call for Inventing the Future was closed. The venture capital area of Fundación Chile ChileGlobal Ventures carried this initiative, where startups were chosen to obtain a ticket to present their pitch at the Roadshow in Singapore 2020.
The event had the collaboration of the Chilean Pacific Foundation, Entel ExploraLab, and CMPC, to find the best startups in the Asia-Pacific countries that deliver solutions in two of the biggest challenges facing society: Digital Transformation and Economy Circular.
The industrial revolution at the service of people
In welcoming the event where more than one hundred people gathered, the general manager of Fundación Chile Marcos Kulka explained that “we have experienced different industrial revolutions, but the next one challenges us to put technological development at the service of people.” With this in mind, the Chile Foundation he directs has put efforts into two focuses: sustainable development and human development.
“Our call to entrepreneurs is to meet the challenge of inventing this new future where we all have a place.”
Marcos Kulka, Chile Foundation
The event takes place after weeks of protests in Chile that demand radical changes from the government to build a fairer country. In this context, Kulka stressed that the competition was a great milestone. “We hope that these types of initiatives, focused on strengthening and accelerating venture capital in Chile, will replicate and help us build a much better country.”
The result of the call motivated executives to replicate it for next year, now in Malaysia, according to the Executive Director of APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) Lorena Leyton, who also participates in the Chilean Pacific Foundation.
Looking for disruptive startups
The selection process lasted more than 3 months. At this time, 180 entrepreneurs from 19 countries nominated their projects. In the end, there were only six finalist startups that presented their pitch at the event.
The jury was integrated by Pablo Traub, President of the Chilean Venture Capital Association (ACVC); Patricia Elías, Director of Alliances and Open Innovation of Entel; Felipe Alcalde, Chief Innovation Officer of CMPC; Gabriela Salvador, Commercial Manager of Van Trust Capital; Alejandro Castro, Commercial Manager UPS Chile; Sofía Grez, CFO of ChileGlobal Ventures; and Alejandra Pérez, President of ChileGlobal Angels
The Live Green Co.
The Live Green Co was the first startup to make its presentation. This Indian company combines the taste of ancient Indian recipes with the knowledge of the science of plants to prepare healthy, sustainable, and plant-based food, all through the software they developed.
Octo Inc.
The second team to take the lead was Octo Inc. This is a Chilean digitalization and automation company, which uses industry 4.0 technologies for the optimization of industrial operation and maintenance processes.
Altum Lab
Altum Lab was the next startup on the list. This company uses algorithms, AI and advanced heuristics and AI, generate intelligent blending proposals that allow to increase the value of the stock and decrease the costs of contract satisfaction.
Odd industries
This startup is a “Computer Vision” platform that helps the construction industry reduce its arrears by up to 45%, detecting anomalies and improving coordination among all stakeholders.
Instacrops
The AgTech sector was represented by this startup specialized in collecting data on irrigation, land, climate and plant conditions, to deliver real-time recommendations and virtual assistance to farmers, saving up to 50% in irrigation, and improving yields and use of fertilizers.
Food for the Future
The last company in the presentation round was this startup dedicated to the transformation of organic waste into sustainable, nutritious and high-value food for the animal industry.
After the deliberation, the judges declared winners to Octo Inc., Instacrops and Food for The Future. These startups received the prize from the main actors of this call: ChileGlobal Ventures, Fundación Chile, Fundación Chilena del Pacífico, Entel Exploralab, CMPC and Van Trust Capital and UPS, who arranged the tickets to make the trip to the Asian economy.
Also in the event, the winners of the call in the financing award by ChileGlobal Ventures in its accelerator, the startups Sensegrass, Forestia, Pooint and Acción Circular; who will receive up to USD 100,000 along with an acceleration program of the venture capital area of Fundación Chile to grow their projects and that also includes contacts, mentoring, activities and the support of the foundation’s technical areas.
The future of venture capital for transformation
The main actors in the venture capital industry were also present at the event. The competition served as a forum for them to share their opinions about the future in the context that all Latin American countries are living. For this, a panel discussion was held between four relevant actors in the ecosystem. The guests were Pablo Traub, president of the ACVC; Alejandra Pérez, president of ChileGlobal Angels; Alejandro Taubas, CEO of Viapool and Jamie Riggs, Managing Director of ChileGlobal Ventures. Among the relevant issues raised, it was reviewed how venture capital can contribute to being an agent of change in the social reality facing Chile today.
From that perspective, Pablo Traub stated that the venture capital industry “helps social mobility and democratizes access to capital, therefore, the value of the industry is intrinsic. What can change is the focus on the projects being financed, towards those that can generate the greatest impact and have a global profile; and this is going to be important in any industry. ”
The instance ended with a networking space, where those present were able to talk and share experiences regarding how they are facing the challenges that arise in society and in their projects and companies.