MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

UK sponsored Start-Up Games in Santiago to promote innovative businesses

Participants of the Start-Up Games Santiago at the gardens of the UK embassy

Chile’s most enthusiastic entrepreneurs gathered together for Start-Up Games Santiago at the British embassy, sponsored by the UK Department for International Trade. The initiative helps entrepreneurs and innovative businesses develop their business plan through a variety of programs and training. The event featured a huge variety of companies, from virtual reality, to health drinks to green bicycle initiatives.

 Having already fought for their place in front of a panel of judges, the remaining 40 arrived at the Ambassador’s Residence ready to pitch their ideas to everyone they met.

The event was centered on an app, developed specifically for the day, allowing the entrepreneurs to compete for virtual investments. With a million pounds per investor, it was all to play for.

Thanks to British Airways sponsorship, the winning entrepreneur received much more than virtual money in the bank. In order to develop their business further, first prize was a flight to London to coincide with London Tech-Week.

Start-Up Games is an initiative started by the Department for International Trade (DIT)’s Global Entrepreneur Program and has travelled all around the world, most recently stopping in Buenos Aires.

Flying in straight from Argentina, Start-Up Games Chile was attended by 2 dealmakers, Andrew Humphries and Sheetal Walsh, to impart their entrepreneurial wisdom.

Andrew Humphries founded The Bakery, a company which helps entrepreneurs and innovative businesses develop their business plan through a huge variety of exciting programs and training.

Sheetal Walsh has acquired an impressive wealth of experience throughout her career, enabling her to establish her own company, MetaCart, as well as founding a charity in India.

First prize was won by Mario Soto, with his company Diagnochip, who presented an innovative design to reduce urinary tract infection diagnosis from four days to just 8 hours.

Mario was closely followed by Nicolás Morelli with his company VACuCh helping to reduce losses from viruses and bacteria in the agricultural sector.

Benjamín Pérez took third place with Shipit; a platform which streamlines the shipment process.

The day was a great success in allowing all the entrepreneurs to promote their business and make contacts for developing their ideas further.