OCT. 14, 2019

President Piñera highlights the contributions of small- and medium-sized businesses to Chile: “They are the engine that is moving the country”

At the launch of SME Week, the President highlighted government initiatives, such as the 30-day Payment Law, simplification of procedures, Tax Modernization and Economic Revitalization Agenda, that are designed to facilitate and promote the activity of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). SMEs generate two out of every three jobs in Chile.

On Monday, President Sebastián Piñera inaugurated SME Week in downtown Santiago. This is the eighth version of the initiative, which highlights the economic momentum of these companies and their contribution  to Chile.

SME Week is designed to promote and recognize Chile’s entrepreneurs with six days of activities, including fairs and meetings, and the distribution of information about the productive development tools offered by the State, as well as funding opportunities and training programs.

The President also gave awards to the 11 entrepreneurs who form part of the 2019 SME National Selection.

“SMEs are the backbone, nervous system and engine that moves our country,” the President said at the event, which was attended by hundreds of entrepreneurs on Paseo Bandera. He was accompanied by Economy Minister Juan Andrés Fontaine, Labor Minister Nicolás Monckeberg, Mining Minister Baldo Prokurica and Agriculture Minister Antonio Walker.

SMEs generate two out of every three jobs in Chile, which translates into over 5.3 million positions. 

In order to continue to promote the activity of this dynamic sector, some 237 activities are to be held throughout the country during the eighth SME Week, with the participation of 34 public and private institutions.

During the inaugural ceremony, the President participated in the presentation of awards to 11 outstanding entrepreneurs who were chosen to represent Chile. They were selected through a vote and were named members of the 2019 SME National Selection by the Economy Ministry and Technical Cooperation Service (Sercotec). This is the second year in a row that the process has been conducted.

“SMEs contribute a great deal in terms of dreams, life projects and innovation and they also make a tremendous contribution to our economy in the areas of growth, job creation and the generation of opportunities,” the President explained.

The people behind Chile’s best initiatives have been given the opportunity to complete an internship in the United States to learn about the entrepreneurship ecosystem, access learning tools, identify opportunities, improve the quality of their products and incorporate innovation in order to promote their companies.

“We must work together to open up a world of opportunities to those one million Chilean men and women who are entrepreneurs and also to those millions who want to have the opportunity to set up their own businesses,” the President said.

President Piñera highlighted the passage of the 30-day Payment Law, which provides certainty regarding payment collections for businesses, as well as the simplification of procedures, tax improvements such as the Tax Modernization bill and an economic revitalization agenda designed to promote activity in this sector.