Argentina and Colombia follow in Chile’s footsteps, so entrepreneurs from these two South American countries have already established some agreements with CIC-Miami, both in the private sector and in the governorate.

Natalia Martinez-Kalinina, general manager of CIC Miami, told the www.negociaenmiami.com portal that with regard to Colombia, specifically in Medellín,an agreement was reached with Ruta N.

-Thanks to the social and economic transformation of the last two decades, this city has also become a benchmark in Latin America, giving rise to new businesses in the areas of IT, Energy and Health.

As for Argentina, we have signed agreements with Overboost, a locally outstanding incubator and accelerator. Same with AreasTres, the main space of Cowork in Buenos Aires, and the government of the city of Buenos Aires. We are working on two more agreements, as it is important that our partnerships are with the public and private sectors and with academic institutions.

He added that by 2018 CIC-Miami will finalize possible strategic alliances with Mexico as well.

Chile

-Taking into account the strength of the dollar against the Chilean peso, how CIC-Miami helps or supports potential entrepreneurs and investors in that country.

-Effectively. At this moment the export of copper from Chile is in a good moment, so the peso is strengthened eating the rest of the exports, since the amount of pesos they make for sales in dollars is not so high. The only way for Chile not to depend on copper cycles to have a stable peso is to diversify the export basket and stop being a mono-exporting country.

The manager of CIC-Miami assures that this is one of the great reasons why the Chilean government aims to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in Chile, even injecting funds for the internationalization of entrepreneurship and innovation.

“Our alliances are with entities that have entrepreneurs in the internationalization stage, and our job is to support them so that this is fulfilled efficiently and effectively.”

-According to the informative note, the aid is through strategic alliances with four Chilean entities, could you be more specific?

CIC Miami offers a commercial immersion experience with the intention of supporting foreign companies looking to scale, establish a presence in the United States, or explore opportunities for participation in this market. Our softlanding package includes free coworking space for up to 1 month for up to two people per company, with access to all the amenities and resources CIC offers.

-If you wish to extend the stay for more than 1 month a discount will be given during the following two months (these two months will have a value of $ 250 per person per month).

They also offer, added who has led the expansion of the innovation center “Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC)” in Miami, connections with those who lead the markets of interest and recommended service providers (accountants, lawyers, etc.) and relevant actors in the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Miami (investors, accelerators, etc.).

Finally, “the package also includes access to free mentoring with experts, such as legal, financial, accounting, pitching, compliance, relations with government entities and investors.

-What real guarantees of business realization does CIC offer to investors in Chile? Is it only in Florida, or can they apply to any of the 52 states of the Union?

–Miami has all the characteristics to be a relevant entrepreneurial ecosystem. In recent years, numerous talent development programs, incubators, accelerators and collaborative spaces have been opened. The number of Angel and VC investors has increased proportionally to this.

“CIC Miami gives foreign entrepreneurs the same possibilities that a local can have in Miami, without wasting time to build the network and understand the local culture. We make all necessary connections and work with entrepreneurs to maximize these efforts before they arrive in the state of Florida.”

Martinez served as Director of Innovation and Technology for a Cuba-focused nonprofit, which allowed her to directly impact the hemisphere’s least connected country. She is still involved in the issue, being co-organizer of “10x10K Cuba,” the first entrepreneurship competition on the island. Previously, he moved from New York to Miami to work as one of six product strategists at Ultimate Software, a $5B human resources software company focused on how to connect psychology, data access, and software development to infer into the design of ‘smart’ work teams.

He adds that CIC Miami understands that this city is the gateway to the United States for many of the entrepreneurs, so being part of CIC Miami has access to the complete CIC network, today located in the cities of Boston, Cambridge, St Louis, Rotterdam.

By 2018, the entity would be operational in the city of Philadelphia and in 2019 in Providence. “But our efforts do not stop there, but we have a network of connections with investors in the main cities that support innovation and entrepreneurship in the United States, such as San Francisco, Boulder, New York and Austin.”

What other countries in the region could follow Chile’s path, according to CIC’s vision?

CIC Miami began its collaboration agreements with a focus on countries where both the private and public sectors intend to support local entrepreneurs to internationalize. This is the case of Chile, with whom we have signed these four agreements. We have also chosen for this first stage to collaborate with Argentina and Colombia.

-CIC-Miami requires a minimum dollar amount to be able to aspire to establish a business in Florida?

-CIC Miami is not an incubator or an accelerator, so companies that want to be part of CIC do not have a minimum dollar requirement to be part of our community. We support our clients with other types of services. A coworking position is the most accessible, which has a cost of $ 300 per month.

“We have private offices in CIC-Miami , which can have from one job to 40. In our spaces you can also find chemical and biological laboratories. All this generates that both established companies and startups and researchers coexist in the same space, and that there is a high content of innovation flowing through our corridors. We want the community generated in CIC to accelerate the process of establishment and growth of our clients, but also to contribute added value to the economic development of Miami and the region.”

Source: https://www.diariolasamericas.com/