Indigenous People

As one of its cross-sectional focal points, ProChile has established support for Indigenous Peoples. The objective is to promote the products and services of indigenous-owned companies internationally. This includes any company in which at least 50% of its associate members belong to one of the Chilean Indigenous Peoples recognized by the Corporación de Desarrollo Indígena (National Corporation for Indigenous Development, CONADI).

According to the 2017 Census, 12.8% of Chile’s population consider themselves to be a member of an Indigenous People.

Indigenous Peoples are a part of Chile’s culture, its economy, and all its productive activities. They are especially active in the agricultural, horticultural, forestry, fishery, and tourism sectors. Their cultural heritage is also prominent in handicraft, metalwork, and textile enterprises. Indigenous Peoples are leaders in innovative service sector and creative industry projects. For many years, the indigenous economy has shown itself to be robust and enduring. It has strengthened and adapted to change by articulating new strategies to insert itself into local and international markets.

Since 2015, ProChile has developed support programs for Aymara, Quechua, Mapuche, Rapa Nui, Diaguita, and Kawésqar businesses. The program is open and available to all indigenous entrepreneurs from across the national territory.

Companies belonging to Indigenous Peoples are looking for market opportunities where their products are valued as much for their quality as for their unique identity and millennial history.

The decisions to buy that are made by consumers around the world are no longer dictated only by price. Now more than ever, there are other determining factors, such as a product’s origin, the traceability of its history and its social impact.

The inclusion of chapters on Gender and Indigenous Peoples in our Free Trade Agreements are a fundamental focus of our international negotiations. In its role as the articulating arm of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ProChile takes on the great challenge of generating more inclusive, solid and sustainable international trade.

In March 2019, ProChile and the National Corporation for Indigenous Development, a division of the Social Development Ministry, signed a cooperation agreement as part of the government’s Plan Impulso Araucanía (Araucanía Stimulus Plan). Among its objectives, the agreement seeks to promote Mapuche enterprises and productive development, in a region where 19.6% of Chile’s indigenous population live.

In May 2020, the same entities returned to sign an agreement for 2020-2021, whose purpose is to contribute to the promotion of our country’s rich, diverse, and invaluable cultural heritage. The objective of the agreement is to support and accelerate the international expansion of companies that have exportable stock or products and/or services with export potential. It will implement a plan that includes capacity building, international promotion and personalized advice on the export process, designed for companies from the different Indigenous Peoples officially recognized by CONADI.

An Indigenous Peoples International Expansion Program is currently in development and has already benefited 19 companies from the food and creative economies sectors.