Deadline to apply: September 8, 2019

The 12th Americas Competitiveness Exchange is going to Latin America’s Innovation Hub: Chile!

Be part of this one of a kind program designed for a limited number of top leaders from the Americas and beyond, and discover the secret sauce behind Chile’s robust and powerful innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem!

The program will take place from Sunday, October 6, 2019, to Thursday, October 10, 2019, in Santiago de Chile, Chile. Forty participants will have the opportunity to explore collaboration opportunities with key stakeholders from Chile, other countries from the Americas and beyond, multilateral institutions, companies, academic institutions, and the permanent ACE Committee Member institutions (the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of State, and the Organization of American States).

This unique experience will bring selected leaders to the most prestigious initiatives that are positioning Chile as a top performer in Latin America. As part of the tour, selected leaders will have the opportunity to visit and connect with top-notch initiatives, such as: Start-up Chile, the Digital Country Foundation, Telefónica Chile, SOFOFA – The Industrial Federation, Imagine Lab, The Not Company, Hubtec Chile, UC Davis Chile, Socialab – TECHO, Santiago MakerSpace, and many more!

What is the purpose? We are seeking doers who can bring concrete offers and ask to the table and together we can incubate ideas through the week, exchange best practices, and rapidly accelerate opportunities of collaboration.

Target participants are Ministers/Vice Ministers or equivalent, members of Congress/Legislature/Parliament, Private Sector Leaders, Mayors or Senior Leaders from cities or provinces, Chancellors/Presidents/Vice Presidents of Universities, Presidents of Competitiveness Councils, Senior leaders of regional economic development partnership groups, innovation agencies or other key public or private and academic sector individuals, CEOs or top business representatives, entrepreneurs and young leaders, among others.

Requirements to apply:

• Have a professional and academic background that facilitates inter-and intra-country-based development, such as foreign direct investment, trade, exports, supply chain linkages, shared technology, etc.
• Be able to allocate resources, propose and adopt key policies, and possess the necessary connections to make identified priorities and actions possible within their country and in collaboration with other countries.
• Be fluent in English.
• Have a valid visa (if necessary) to enter Chile or be able to obtain one before traveling, if needed. Information about Chile's visa requirement can be found at the following link: https://serviciosconsulares.cl/tramites/site/tax/port/all/taxport_14___1.html
• Be able to participate during the full program. Partial participation will not be allowed.
• The ability to cover the costs of the airfare and hotel room.
Once your application is received, the ACE Committee reserves the right to reach out to the applicant to clarify information for the application processes.


The ACE 12 is organized by the University for Development of Chile (UDD), the Corporation for the Promotion of Production (CORFO) of the Ministry of Economy of Chile;, and the Organization of American States (OAS) as the RIAC Technical Secretariat.

The organizers thank the support from the Ministry of Production and Labor from Argentina as RIAC Chair Pro Temper and the Government of the United States as the ACE program cofounders.

For additional information, please visit http://riacevents.org/ACE/chile and read the Application Guide.