The Entrepreneurship Challenge in Buenos Aires Province
Daring to take the leap (original publication 11/28/2019)
The man in the picture is called Luke Aikins and no, this is not a photomontage. In 2016, at the age of 43, he jumped from a plane at an altitude of 7,600 meters without a parachute and became a legend. Two minutes of free fall at 200 kilometers per hour. It is often said that starting a company is like jumping into the void. It is also said that an entrepreneur is the one who jumps into the void and builds his airplane during the fall, but this is not entirely true.
If that were the case, this man would be crazy or a kamikaze, but Luke is just the opposite; he is an extremely rational person and is passionate about life. Luke Aikins is not an improviser, he is a professional entrepreneur. He works as stuntman for movies like Marvel, he is the real Ironman. He undertakes calculated risks down to the smallest detail. Before making the leap into the void, he worked with his team for months to manufacture a special high-density polyethylene net which was 30 meters by 30 meters size, more or less the equivalent size of half a soccer field, supported by 4 cranes and hydraulic pistons. A net designed to catch him, absorb the energy of the freefall and deposit him safe and sound on the ground. To find out if he was successful in his attempt, I invite you to watch the following video.
Entrepreneurship is a great way to develop our purpose and contribute to the economic growth of our city, province, country and society in general. It is important to note that we are not alone on this path. Underneath there is a network indeed; a huge ecosystem, an entrepreneurial community that is present and active to support each other; a variety of training proposals, networking and opportunities. It is true that there has never been a better time in the history of mankind to become an entrepreneur, but it is also a path full of obstacles and challenges to be resolved. We must transit our way intelligently and above all we need a lot of “S.U.E.R.T.E.” (Spanish word for LUCK) and by this I mean “Saber Utilizar Efectivamente nuestros Recursos para Tener Éxito” (Spanish for we must Know How to Effectively Use our Resources to Succeed). That’s why we have to do like Luke and develop our skills to become professional entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurship PBA, a startup Directorship within the Provincial Government
In January 2018, I accepted the enormous challenge of becoming the Director of Entrepreneurship within the Ministry of Production of Buenos Aires Province. A Province with 17 million inhabitants distributed geographically in 135 municipalities with an area of 307,571 km², (an area similar to Germany) with a lot to be done and of course, like most startups, we started with no budget at all.
The Province of Buenos Aires adjoins the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (article 129 of the Argentine constitutional reform of 1994 granted the city of Buenos Aires the rank of autonomous city, which gives it a status almost comparable to that of a province, therefore having representatives in the National Congress in addition to its own legislature). Buenos Aires City is the capital of the Argentinean Republic and has a highly developed entrepreneurship ecosystem, with more than 10 years of public policies, development programs and a considerable budget. A large number of entrepreneurs from the Province move to the City to access the variety of training and financing programs. At the beginning of our management, we aligned strategies and expectations with the Director of Entrepreneurship of the City of Buenos Aires to define lines of joint work.
On the other hand, the National Ministry of Production has been developing a comprehensive entrepreneurship program for the past four years, with specific initiatives with positive impact to our Province; providing training and assistance programs through 19 entrepreneurs clubs, seed funding and the entrepreneurship cities program. From Entrepreneurship PBA we set out the goal to develop additional programs, content and to generate networking events to complement the national proposal through the existing entrepreneurs clubs.
On the past years we had an excellent national context for promoting the entrepreneurial ecosystem and we had some key laws and initiatives introduced: Entrepreneurs Law №27.349 known as Trust Fund for the Development of Entrepreneurial Capital (FONDCE), the Collective financing system law and the Simplified Stock Company framework (known as SAS) to be able to create a new company in 24 hours (before it took months). More recently the Knowledge Economy Law №27.506 was passed, bringing benefits in labor costs, income tax, export retention and the promotion of new companies giving fiscal stability for the period 2020 to 2029. Currently we are working together with ASEA (Argentinean Entrepreneurship Association) and provincial legislators to include Buenos Aires Province in the national agenda.
Given the general context described above, our budget limitations and the need to generate greater value for the entrepreneurs in Buenos Aires Province, we defined the following value proposition, launching a series of very innovative and high-impact programs:
Our Purpose
To promote the entrepreneurial culture as a source of employment generation and sustainable business models, supporting the creation of value added and highly competitive startups, reaching both local and international markets. In this way we intend to contribute to the development and consolidation of the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Buenos Aires Province.
SDGs
We developed and executed our programs and activities in accordance with the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:
Our Mission
· Promote the entrepreneurial culture as a source of employment generation and sustainable business models, supporting the creation of value added and highly competitive startups, reaching both local and international markets.
· Contribute to the development and consolidation of the entrepreneurial ecosystem of the Buenos Aires Province through networking, an entrepreneurial mapping, workshops, events, financing and open innovation challenges, with a special focus on social innovation.
· Promote innovation, technology and sustainability as fundamental tools for the sustainable development of Buenos Aires Province.
· Contribute to reducing the rate of discontinuity or failure of new ventures within the first two years of life.
Programs and strategic pillars
- Promotion of entrepreneurship: We were present in many places and events, giving lectures, talks and a variety of training workshops to provide tools to better undertake.
Programs: The Entrepreneurship Challenge, ReSolve Workshop (in partnership with ASEA, EMPREAR and COPRET), Liberated Associative Ventures (for ex-convicts), CEDEM PBA (Women’s Economic Development Center) and Entrepreneurship PBA Newsletter (we reached 10.000 subscribers with news, special events, training content, tools, entrepreneurial agenda and PBA Entrepreneurs success stories).
We sponsored: Inauguration of new entrepreneurs clubs in Buenos Aires Province, Green Latin America Awards, Training course on SDGs, INNOVAR Awards, PROESUS Awards, Casa Argentina Expo, La Plata Construye Expo, Entrepreneur Hall Expo, Campus Party, UNLP Digital Economy Challenges Seminar, Innovation Seminar, Tourism and Entrepreneurship UNLP, Launch of UADE Costa Atlántica Entrepreneur Center, Domus Labs Awards, Lanus Entrepreneur of the Year Award, Entrepreneur’s Day in Vicente López, Rauch, CABA, among others.
2. Financing: We created a very innovative crowdfunding program with the aim of promoting early-stage entrepreneurs. Customers acquired the product developed by the entrepreneur in advance and also receives financial support from a consolidated company or organization such as Mercado Libre, BGH, Itaú Foundation and the Federal Investment Council. Half of the funds were used as seed capital, the rest on consulting services for the crowdfunding campaign such as the production of a promotional video and advertisement in media and social networks. In addition, the interaction between the entrepreneur and the supporting company generated all types of synergies.
Programs: Crowdfunding PBA (collective financing in partnership with Ideame Argentina) and an agreement with Buenos Aires Province Bank to provide personalized Microloans according to the specific needs of each entrepreneur. The Liberated Associative Entrepreneurship program (for ex-convicts) had a special financing line.
3. Acceleration, expansion and networking. During 2018 we carried out a survey to search for the most outstanding startups in Buenos Aires Province and in 2019 we federalized the initiative by summoning the most outstanding startups from all over the country. We brought them together in an annual event that we called “La Plata Challenge 2018” and “Argentina Challenge 2019”, which were held in the Y-TEC building, in partnership with the Municipality of La Plata, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation of Buenos Aires Province and the Argentinean Ministry of Production, where each startup had the opportunity to pitch their business model to the most prominent investment funds in the country.
Entrepreneurship PBA, the path traveled
In order to fulfill our mission, we became a team 100% aligned under the same purpose. I would like to thank Marcela Kadjo, Maricel Kochanowsky, Eugenia Carricaburu, Ana Laura Villalón and Carlos Saunders for an impeccable management and support. To Mariela Balbo, coordinator of CEDEM PBA for her experience and invaluable contribution, to Karina Bandarenko and Romina Arbizu for carrying out the agenda of women entrepreneurs. To all the members of the SMEs Department, with whom we worked as a big team, and a especial thanks to Rocío Roche, general coordinator of the Entrepreneurs Department, for her human quality, unconditional support and a wonderful management.
Thank you Maria Eugenia Vidal Governor of Buenos Aires Province, Javier Tizado Minister of Production, Nicolás Zaballa Undersecretary of Entrepreneurs, SMEs and Cooperatives, and Nicolás D’Angelo Provincial Director of Entrepreneurs and SMEs, for your commitment to public service and entrusting me with this great challenge.
As Entrepreneurship PBA, we began to walk this path two years ago. We met, mentored, supported, connected and learned from thousands of incredible entrepreneurs; We are very grateful to have had the opportunity. We set a path where there was none, but without a doubt there are many things still to be done. We hope that the new administration will continue developing more and better public policies and support programs for entrepreneurs; because we understand that the entrepreneur of today will become the SME and the large companies of tomorrow, the real engines of the economic and social development of Buenos Aires Province.
Charly Karamanian
Director of Entrepreneurs
Ministry of Production of Buenos Aires Province
