GO SOUTH, YOUNG EDSURGENT: Like all the way to Chile. Here's a government program that sounds mucho entrepreneur-centric: Start-UpChile has a single minded goal: to bring great entrepreneurs from all over the world to Chile--at least for a little while. The Chilean government is awarding grants of $40K to startups, along with instant, one-year (extendable) green cards. In turn, the startups agree to be based in Chile for six months. The program began in 2010; Chile aims to fund 1,000 startups by the time it wraps up the program in 2014. Next year, there will be 300 spots open and three selection rounds (March, July, October.) You have to spend the money during the six months, else you lose it. Competition is ratcheting up: in July more than 650 companies applied for 100 spots. The program isn't specific to edtech startups but those in the program do find one another--and may wind up partnering, as did financial literacy startup, AgentPiggy, a kid-friendly search engine, Zuggi.com, and collaborative platform, Schoooools, which were part of the second cohort. Para obtener mas detalles de como aplicar al programa favor de hacer clic aqui (or just click here)!
