MinCiencia’s historical female board seeks to change the tech ecosystem

In an area where women still face funding and exposure challenges, Constanza Levicán, the President of Climatech Chile, is one of the 16 leaders called to participate in the Mesa Impulsa Género-Tech board to design an action plan to change this reality.

A board that promises to position female business leadership in Chile. La Moneda gathered 16 women who are challenging the statistics on science and technology, among them Constanza Levicán, President of Climatech Chile and founder of Suncast, who was called by the Ministry of Science to join the first Mesa Impulsa Género-Tech board.

According to the Ministry’s data, only 12.8% of Chilean Science and Technology-Based Companies (STBCs) are exclusively led by women, with 9% of them barely accessing funds exceeding US$500 thousand, compared to 42% of companies led by men. 

In the same order of ideas, Constanza Levicán’s experience is essential for the government's call, founding Suncast and leading a pioneer company in the use of artificial intelligence for optimizing the operation of solar and wind energy power plants. Suncast currently has a portfolio of services that send forecasts to 5,214 MW of installed renewable energy capacity, where 2,352 MW correspond to solar energy power plants and 2,862 MW to wind energy power plants, representing over 50% of Chile's wind energy capacity.

In addition to her recognition in Forbes’ TOP100 Chilean startups ranking for three consecutive years, Levicán received the Avonni Award for Women Entrepreneurs and the 2021 Avonni Award in the Energy category. Her participation on the board is not only a response to her role as an innovator but also as an example and advocate of female leadership in the energy transition.  

Mesa Género-Tech’s objectives 

The Mesa Impulsa Género-Tech will be a workspace where actions will be articulated with other State institutions, seeking to expand the network of women in technology-based startups by working on specific mechanisms for female-led technological ventures to take off in Chile and also access international markets. Constanza Levicán will take part in this process by contributing using her trajectory, leadership and foresight to open new paths for future innovative women generations.

“In this board, we will review concrete actions that allow the growth of STBC companies led by women. The growth at a national level, reviewing, for example, Chile Compra’s system and the challenges faced by the State in order to buy emerging technologies effectively. On an international level, we will analyze concrete actions to increase the export of such technologies, which is particularly relevant for intermittent export companies to become constant exporters”, explained Levicán.

Minister Etcheverry shared a similar opinion; she explained what the state’s purpose will be in this collaborative agenda: “We want this board to become a permanent workspace. The capacity for technological entrepreneurship and development exists in Chile; we are considering this area and placing it on the international agenda, and now we want to add more women. They represent the talent, experience and energy of women in startups, in the STBCs that are starting, and we want to accompany them”, is part of what was stated at the gathering between STEM leaders, which is available on the governmental entity’s website.