CORFO — Chilean Economic Development Agency (Corporación de Fomento de la Producción)

Administers Chile's national development programs, helping firms and communities scale through innovation, training, and entrepreneurship support.

Corporación de Fomento de la Producción (CORFO) is Chile's decentralized public development agency under the Ministry of Economy, Development and Tourism. Founded in 1939 after the Chillán earthquake, it was created to rebuild production and now backs competitiveness, productive diversification, entrepreneurship, and regional growth across Chile.

It uses non-refundable subsidies, co-financing, and accelerator support to move projects from prototype to market. The funded mix spans AI infrastructure, agritech, biotech, climate, foodtech, hardware, medtech, manufacturing, energy, and materials. Flagship routes include Start-Up Chile, Semilla Inicia, Semilla Expande, Viraliza, Innova Región, IP-CFT 2030, and Súmate Innovar, with recent call sizes ranging from CLP 10 million to CLP 60 million depending on the route.

CORFO operates through an eight-member council and a national-plus-regional delivery model, with calls run both Todo Chile and through regional development committees. It is strongest for teams that can show technical validation, commercial traction, and a clear regional fit, especially where public support can bridge a prototype, market test, or first scale-up phase.