The Innovation Club in aquaculture in Chile, following the model of The Seafood Innovation Cluster

Photo: First directory of The Innovation Club  Chile cluster Following the Norwegian model
There is no doubt about the urgent and priority benefits that innovation offers to any economic activity at present. This was understood by Chilean mining, creating a council for these matters in 2005. The aquaculture of nations such as Norway or Scotland also followed the same path through The Seafood Innovation Cluster or Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre, respectively. The Chilean activity, which includes salmon farming, the second most important industry in the country and the second in its category worldwide created, after a survey consultation, The Innovation Club in January 2019.

14 aquaculture suppliers
The Chilean Innovation Club clustered 14 aquaculture suppliers of different sizes, as well as five representatives of public and private entities. Among the fundamental aspects of the new Chilean cluster include human capital construction and reinforcement of innovation management in the company and associative efforts; challenges and open innovation, national and international networking; regular report of instruments and funds for innovation.

Contribution to Innvation
Although the aquaculture industry is going through a very good economic moment, it faces different challenges to continue developing in a sustainable and competitive manner. For this reason, we believe it is opportune to create an Innovation Club that will provide additional tools to the activity. On the other hand, and given its global leadership, it is also an opportunity for these innovative companies to help industries in other countries to continue developing, says Adolfo Alvial, director of the consultancy of ORBE XXI and elected as president of the board.

It can be noted that, among the club’s most immediate definitions, they emphasize that the size of the company will not be part of the membership requirements, which the club considers all Chilean aquaculture, including new species and other geographical areas of the country, and that the option of sponsors or larger companies wishing to deliver larger-scale contributions will be opened to ‘sustain an activity that can only benefit the industry as a whole. With this, we are sure that a new and interesting phase has started for the aquaculture industry in the country’ concluded Alvial.

Aqua.cl, 12th March 2019

Read more here (in Spanish)