Pablo Zamora is one of the most influential figures in Chile’s innovation and scientific entrepreneurship landscape. As Executive President of Fundación Chile and co-founder of NotCo, Zamora has been at the forefront of bridging science, business, and sustainability to drive Chile’s transition toward a knowledge-based economy. His leadership at Fundación Chile has accelerated the growth of science-based ventures and fostered collaborations across public, private, and academic sectors.
In this exclusive interview with LatinGulf.ae, Zamora shares his insights on the state of Chile’s innovation ecosystem, the country’s strategic participation in the Innovation Summit Chile–Dubai 2025, and how Chile aims to position itself as a reliable innovation and sustainability partner for the Gulf region and beyond.
From your position at Fundación Chile, how do you assess the current context of innovation and technological development in Chile, and what opportunities do you see for projecting it toward international markets such as the United Arab Emirates?
Chile possesses exceptional scientific talent and a strong entrepreneurial drive — we are regional leaders in entrepreneurship across Latin America — and there is a clear willingness to contribute to sustainable development. However, unlike other sectors, science and technology-based companies (STBCs) have faced greater challenges in scaling. At Fundación Chile, we are committed to promoting their growth and driving the development of a more complex, diversified, and knowledge-intensive economy.
These STBCs can play a key role in addressing urgent global challenges such as the energy transition and decarbonization, while also accelerating solutions in areas like sustainable mining, biotechnology, and food innovation.
Looking toward markets like the United Arab Emirates, we see significant opportunities for collaboration with Chile, particularly in green hydrogen, water resource management, food security, AI applied to resource-intensive industries, and in building globally connected entrepreneurial ecosystems.
The internationalization of Chilean startups through platforms like startuplab.01 is vital for this projection, as it allows us to scale globally impactful solutions from Chile to dynamic ecosystems such as Dubai and other Gulf markets.
As President of Fundación Chile, how important is it for you to participate in the Innovation Summit Chile–Dubai 2025, and what is your vision for strengthening Chilean innovation in the international context?
Chile’s participation in the Innovation Summit Chile–Dubai 2025 carries enormous strategic value. Dubai has positioned itself as one of the world’s most dynamic centers for innovation, technology investment, and global connectivity. Being part of Expand North Star demonstrates that Chile both wants and is capable of playing a leading role in the global conversation on innovation and sustainability.
We want to project Chile not only as a provider of natural resources but as a reliable partner in innovation, science, technology, and sustainability.
This mission also allows us to spotlight Chilean startups and create new connections for startuplab.01, expanding opportunities for internationalization, investment, and partnerships. Our participation is guided by a clear vision: to build bridges, foster trust, and open markets so that Chilean innovation can grow and gain recognition in global ecosystems as relevant as Dubai.
From your experience in public–private collaboration and social innovation, what types of Fundación Chile initiatives could be scaled or adapted to the Gulf or UAE markets?
Fundación Chile has developed high-impact programs in areas that are currently top priorities in the Gulf — such as water resources, energy transition, mining, and agribusiness. In addition, our innovation and investment division, ChileGlobal Ventures, has been a national pioneer, supporting high-impact startups.
In this context, we see a particularly strong opportunity for startuplab.01, our deep-tech hub for science-based startups addressing climate challenges, developed in partnership with CORFO (Chile’s Economic Development Agency).
The UAE’s open innovation ecosystem, combined with its strong investment capacity and appetite for frontier technologies, makes it an ideal environment for collaboration.
We also believe our experience as a multisectoral facilitator — co-developing solutions across different industries — can contribute to building inclusive development models that align with the region’s sustainability agenda.
What expectations do you have regarding the type of strategic partnerships Fundación Chile could establish during this event — whether with governments, companies, or research institutions?
Our expectations are centered on opening long-term collaboration opportunities. We see strong potential in forming alliances with companies and innovation hubs in the UAE, which could serve as gateways for Chilean startups.
Research and technology centers represent a natural space for convergence — we aim to share experiences and co-develop solutions with regional counterparts.
Ultimately, our goal is to build bridges that accelerate the internationalization of Chilean innovation, positioning Fundación Chile as a key connector, with startuplab.01 serving as the concrete platform to bring these opportunities to life.
(C) latingulf.ae / prochile.ae 2025 – Innovation Summit Chile-Dubai 2025
