By Andrea Perez-Sobers of The Daily Express
Chilean Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago Aníbal Barría Garcua and TTCSI Vashti Guyadeen
THE Trinidad and Tobago Coalition of Services Industries (TTCSI) in its drive to develop the digital potential of Micro Small and Medium Size Enterprises (MSMEs) in Trinidad and Tobago is collaborating with the leading accelerator programme “Startup Chile” for tech starts up in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Start-Up Chile (SUP) is a public Startup accelerator created by the Chilean Government for high-potential entrepreneurs to bootstrap their startups and use Chile as a foundation.
Today, Start-Up Chile is the leading accelerator in Latin America, among the top 10 globally, and one of the biggest and most diverse Startup communities in the world.
After it was created, 50 countries followed suit and created similar programs.
Chief Executive Officer of the TTCSI Vashti Guyadeen told the Express on Tuesday, she saw it fit to team up with Startup Chile as the training programme is aimed at making IT global which the goal of TTCSI for services to hit worldwide.
“Services providers unlike manufacturers do not see themselves as exporters and that mind set has to change. So we need to address that and give them the confidence along with the right tools to explore new markets. The Jamaicans have already taken advantage of the programme on how to become successful IT entrepreneurs, however Trinidadians have not been able to learn about the programme and what it entails, hence why we saw the need to start the education process.”
Guyadeen said it’s against this background, the TTCSI will be holding a virtual discussion with Start-Up Chile on Thursday to explain and educate IT entrepreneurs on how to apply to receive training for six months in Chile in order to expand their companies, along with other key information.
Also speaking about the programme was Chilean Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago Aníbal Barría Garcua who said the training programme opens up enormous opportunities and hundreds of companies that have already participated have seen results thus far.
Garcua noted that once the IT entrepreneur fills out the application and meets the requisite criteria the entire programme is then funded by the Chile Government.
“The Chilean Government realizes that the future of the country is tied to it becoming the technology hub of Latin America and that is why it is important for us to pass on our expertise to show that IT can become a major investment structure for a country especially in light of Covid-19.
Trinidad and Tobago has a great potential and I want to see many IT owners take advantage of the programme in order to succeed and expand into other countries.”
The Chilean Ambassador said T&T and Chile have always had a great relationship and this partnership with TTCSI will foster stronger ties.
He also called on the government and the opposition to work together to promote more business opportunities for the country.
“This country has so many rich products that should be developed for exports and the only way to do that is for the political parties to come together to help generate new investors, which will boost the economy in the long run,” Garcua said.
