On Tuesday August 8th, in the premises of the Business Centre of the Eurochile Business Foundation, the launch of the programme “Crea y Valida – ZIM” took place, a call for proposals that in the collaborative framework between Corfo and the Ministry of Economy and Climate Action of the Federal Republic of Germany was carried out to support R&D&I Collaborative Projects between Chilean and German companies.

During the day, Nina Morales, Director of Institutional Affairs and Business Cooperation, opened the event by introducing the Eurochile Foundation, highlighting its mission, its 30 years of experience, the impulse it has, through its networks and platforms, for the generation of bilateral trade and that the connection between Europe and Chile through Eurochile is an example of how international cooperation can be an engine of development and prosperity. Subsequently, Sergio Maureira, Deputy Executive Director of Sustainable Innovation Corfo, took the floor, who introduced the responsibilities and functions offered by Corfo, emphasising the projects that are currently under development for the benefit of companies. Likewise, Cristian Casanueva, Corfo’s Sustainable Innovation executive, presented the programme, its different phases and established the bases for participation, reminding that the deadline for registration is 15 September.

The purpose of this initiative is to support the development of new or improved products (goods or services) and/or processes requiring research and development (R&D). This assistance ranges from the prototype stage to technical validation on a productive and/or commercial scale, in order to strengthen the innovative capabilities of enterprises. With a special focus on small and medium-sized enterprises, this first joint call for proposals is designed for companies seeking to obtain funding for their innovation projects. It also aims to promote new opportunities for business collaboration between Chile and Germany.

To be eligible to participate in the programme, Chilean SMEs must apply via the CORFO website. The grant covers up to 220 million chilean pesos (€250,000) of the total project costs. In that sense, the percentage of co-financing covered varies depending on the beneficiary’s annual sales revenue and the size of the companies: 40% for large, 60% for medium-sized and 80% for small companies. In addition, there is an increase of up to 10% more co-financing for “Women-led enterprises”.

In this sense, one of the results expected to be achieved through this programme is the strengthening of innovation capacities in companies. This translates into the presentation of proposals that enable the effective introduction to the market of a product (good or service), defined and tested, and/or a proposal for the productive implementation of the process, executed and new or improved products (goods or services) and/or processes, which require R&D, developed.