I was very skeptical as well and applied almost as a lark. When we were accepted I was completely shocked. As others have said, they do NOT take any equity and they ask very very little of you while you're down here. Plus you are given tons of free resources to help you meet your goals. The "catch" is that you have to pick up your life and move to Chile for 6 months. For some this is very easy, but for most (myself included) it is more logistically challenging than one would assume.
The important thing to remember is that the Chilean government is not doing this for job creation or direct financial return (their economy is strong), they are doing it to build out an international network and to encourage their own entrepreneurs to think more globally and take bigger risks. If you look at what they're spending ($10M to $50M USD) versus what they're getting, it starts to make more sense.
The important thing to remember is that the Chilean government is not doing this for job creation or direct financial return (their economy is strong), they are doing it to build out an international network and to encourage their own entrepreneurs to think more globally and take bigger risks. If you look at what they're spending ($10M to $50M USD) versus what they're getting, it starts to make more sense.