Escala GovTech Chile underway: eight startups train with Start-Up Chile to grow in the public sector

The first cycle of Escala GovTech in Chile is moving forward. Since mid October, the eight selected startups, all part of the BIG 12 generation of Start-Up Chile, have been taking part in a training process that aims to strengthen their B2G (Business to Government) business model, so they can offer their solutions to public institutions at different levels of government, with a special focus on local governments.

The training combines specialized sessions, mentoring and connections with public sector actors. Later on, the startups will be able to access funding to test their solutions through short term pilots with public institutions.

Featured in the national press

Chilean news channel T13 published an article about the program, presenting the eight startups and their solutions. The article also includes remarks by Javiera Araneda, Executive Director of Start-Up Chile, who said it is an honor to be the program’s executing entity in Chile and highlighted their commitment to connecting startups with local governments to boost the use of technology in their territories and communities. It also mentions the work Red de Innovación Local carries out with the municipalities of CIIAR Chile to strengthen their capacities to adopt artificial intelligence.

An opening session with a local perspective

The first session was led by Mauricio Brito, Director of Hub Providencia, who shared key insights about the GovTech world and his experience working with municipalities. We thank him for his participation, which brings the startups closer to the reality of cities.

The selected startups

Four of the startups are Chilean and four come from Argentina, Germany and Colombia, with solutions in areas such as employment, education, health, data protection and cybersecurity.

• Batwise (Chile): measures how AI engines answer citizens’ real questions about benefits and public services, and provides recommendations to improve the accuracy of that public information.

• Career Hub (Chile): a digital support platform for job seekers, designed for municipalities, municipal employment offices (OMIL) and employment agencies.

• Empujón Educativo (Argentina): gives local public education services (SLEP and DAEM) a reading profile for each student, to prioritize support and measure its results.

• Glya (Colombia): connects the homes of patients with chronic diseases to primary care centers (CESFAM) and public hospitals, with continuous data based monitoring.

• Kenbi Akademie (Germany): manages ongoing training for workers in health services, municipalities and other public bodies.

• LeyDeDatos (Chile): helps institutions comply with personal data protection law, coordinating their citizen services, legal and IT teams.

• RYA Platform (Chile): enables public institutions to manage the networks and ecosystems they bring together, with traceability of programs, calls and results.

• Yotta (Colombia): alerts public employees in real time when they open risky links, to prevent fraud and credential theft.

What comes next

The training continues with weekly sessions, where the startups will keep learning how to work with the public sector, from public procurement to designing value propositions for government institutions. Mentoring and the design of possible pilots with public institutions will follow.