Chilean Entrepreneurs on Campus

January 12, 2018

Five Chilean companies are participating in the 2018-2019 version of the Columbia Business School’s Entrepreneurship and Competitiveness in Latin America (ECLA), which targets entrepreneurs from mid-sized Latin American companies seeking to expand and better compete in today’s global environment. The program consists of six modules, the first of which took place on Columbia's campus in New York on January 3-12. The first module included sessions on the foundations of international business and problem solving featuring top faculty from the Business School.

The Chilean companies, which range from a pet store to an innovation accelerator, and from a nutrition supplement business to a manufacturer of mechanical components for the mining industry, are TiendaPetINNSPIRALNutralineRivet, and Khipu. In addition, this version of the program brought together other fifteen companies from Argentina, Cuba, Perú, Ecuador, Colombia, Uruguay, Spain and Mexico. Each one is represented by two or three of its leaders.

Gisele Feldman, the Santiago Center’s Program Manager is also participating in the program as are Chilean representatives from the global entrepreneurship movement Endeavor.

The diversity of the companies’ line of business is one of the most enriching features of ECLA. Among them, there are videogame designers from Argentina, online retailers of beauty products from Uruguay, and a producer/exporter of organic fruits and vegetables from Peru.

This is the fifth version of the ECLA program, which is led by the Business School’s Nelson Fraiman. Among the Chilean companies that have previously completed it are NeptunoPumps, in the industrial market; ArchDaily, an architecture portal; Corbac, from the food sector; and Capitaria, in the area of financial services.

The next five modules for the 2018-2019 ECLA program will take place on March 12 – 16 (study trip to Scandinavia); April - July 2018  (online); August 13 - 17 (on Campus);  September - December  (online); and January 7 - 11, 2019 (on Campus).

Photograph of Chilean participants  (from top to bottom): Cesar Espósito (Nutraline), Maximiliano Pellegrini (Endeavor), Allan Turski (Tienda Pet), Eduardo Parraguez (Khipu), Pablo Celedon (Rivet), Gisele Feldman (Columbia Global Centers/ Santiago), Carlos Fernández (INNSPIRAL), Rodolfo Bortzuski (Tienda Pet), Roberto Opazo (Khipu), Marco Espósito (Nutraline), Francisco Cáceres (Nutraline), Arturo Herrera (INNSPIRAL), Emilio Davis (Khipu) and Enrique Celedon (Rivet).