Corfo calls for reforms of venture capital lines and studies to become a direct contributor of funds



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That the regulation is too restrictive and that it does not allow investing in any type of business. That the managers who receive the resources choose to support projects in better known markets, without really relying on risk. Or that Corfo hardly monitors the relationship that the fund has with entrepreneurs.

When we try to badyze the present public instruments to support the venture capital sector in Chile, the opinions are in favor of everything. . Corfo's executive vice president, Sebastin Sichel, is well aware of this: he has been running business meetings for several weeks with the main players in the country's venture capital ecosystem, from funds to entrepreneurs. find the gaps in the public support system and how to improve it.

Sichel relied on the thesis that it is necessary to move to a second of the lines of credit strategy for the venture capital industry. He explains that when these incentives were created in 2008, they were to encourage the development of a virtually non-existent industry in the country and that now – 10 years later and before the first funds begin to pay for the first credits – the time has come Guide them towards a greater impact on the ecosystem. "We want to stimulate the private equity sector and what it means first, it is to multiply the available funds and, secondly, that these funds accelerate the process of business success and that they do not just look for credit from the same fund, "he explains.

Corfo badyzes the co-investment in startups

Sebastin Sichel's vision for Corfo goes beyond playing with the cards that touched him and it becomes clear when & ### He proposes the new strategy that he badyzes. activate the venture capital market in the country. "What we are talking about is that Corfo could perhaps play another role in the development of this market, for example by contributing directly to the funds," he explains.

He adds that if this alternative is achieved, a series of regulatory amendments will be required and therefore, they badyze the experience gained by the international development banks. "It's not a decision we've made, but a reflection that we take deep in. It's perhaps the other formula for encouraging institutional investors to enter the market." The idea is basically that Corfo, not only the equity risk, but also participate in the fund administration, get an idea of ​​the quality of the investment that will be made and, in addition, generate some heritage resources, "he said.

In the state where they are already working in the first phase of badysis to know the viability of the initiative. "We have studied the model, we have seen what the regulatory proposal should be, and we are now witnessing a bit of benchmarking, comparing successes and failures, and badyzing real leverage for investors. What we want is to stimulate the market, so we will do so only when the market dynamism is triggered and a type of investment will not be generated today. ", says Sichel.

The Beginnings of "Non-Neutrality"

In addition to this ambitious plan – which Sichel defines as "in green" – the Executive Vice President of the State adds that the The most concrete idea today is to create a new tax incentive structure to encourage funds to actually invest in risk and to do more comprehensive work for entrepreneurs. "I do not like the word" fiscización "because it is a bit like going back to the discussion about the role of the state in the 90s. is not to control where they invest, but rather to multiply the funds and improve the conditions under which they decide to invest in the risk. "

"Non-neutrality" is one of the most repeated concepts in Sichel's mouth. He uses it to explain the trick that he seeks to give Corfo when it comes to supporting funds and that it is defined by two central ideas. On one side, encourage the creation of funds that add value to the economy, but at the same time, this value creation presents a high degree of innovation. "Neutrality was a necessary step to place the" apple box "from which the development of these funds is built, but now comes an badysis of why these resources are available to access markets and what kind of entrepreneurs or industries we want incentiveiva, "says.

Said that, resuming criticism from some sectors that talk about restrictions that Corfo funds must invest, for example, in some foreign companies or in certain types of businesses, Sichel is categorical: things that are out of the conversation. "Here we must never forget that Corfo is a public institution that allocates the resources of the lady who pays her taxes to Maip and the resources of all Chileans who go to the treasury, so the funds invested are relevant."

Institutional Investors

Aware that the venture capital industry can not depend solely on the public sector, Sichel sees with his own eyes what he defines as "each of" Risk aversion "of traditional entrepreneurship – and this has been translated, for example, in cases such as the recent entrepreneurial contest launched by Andrnico Luksic – but believes that it is possible to In this sense, he argues that institutional investors are also joining the trend. "We see with the Ministry of the Economy a regulatory proposal to encourage other players requiring changes to the rules. particular regulators to enter this market, through a fund of funds, through incentives, "he said.

Add, moreover, that "It would be ideal" that the AFP, which today has no legal limitation to do so, also participate in the capital industry. -risk. "The question is: what must be done to make this happen? We believe that there needs to be a legal change that allows, for example, the creation of a fund of funds in which they are investors and creating this fund that not directly, "he says.

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