2018 Yearbook - Universidad ORT Uruguay

163 The Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) aims to foster an entrepreneurial culture among students and strengthen ties between entrepreneurs and the business sector. It operates an innovation lab where all of the university’s areas of knowledge and development converge. In 2018, the CIE was selected by the National Agency for Research and Innovation (ANII) as a Sponsoring Institution for Entrepreneurship, which allows entrepreneurs to access a program that provides funding for Business Idea Validation (VIN) and seed capital for innovative ventures. During 2018, 198 business ideas were submitted through the “Submit Your Idea” website. From these proposals, 21 projects in the pre-incubation stage were presented to the VIN committee, composed of the CIE, the ANII, and the National Development Agency (ANDE), with ten of them receiving approval for funding: Bguest, BioLube, Clickasas, Enteria, Hey! Mozo, Kamaleón, Karma to Brew Kombucha, Mercado Granjero, Socio Mayor, and VigiCai. Additionally, 12 projects were presented to the CIE selection committee, of which 11 received support to begin their incubation period: AdditOvo, Alamano, Dragoons, Guías, HoneyPot Project X, My Acoustic, My Glam Closet, PopUp, PrintKit, Sherlock Solutions, and Tu Terapia. ACTIVITIES OF THE CENTER FOR INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP (CIE) 2018 Furthermore, the CIE submitted 20 incubated projects to the seed funding programs of ANII and ANDE, of which 11 received such funding: Alamano, ArcaHub, Dogma Genetics, FrameAlive, Infomarcas, Krooping, My Glam Closet, Nexo Salud, PrintKit, Sherlock Solutions, and Wabee Sabi. With the support of the CIE, 13 new startups were launched in 2018: Alamano, Como en Casa, FAS, FrameAlive, Guías, Metboss, My Glam Closet, Nexo salud, PreciosUY, Sherlock Solutions, TeLIoT ,Wabee Sabi and Zafrales . Additionally, in 2018, six projects that took their first steps with CIE support graduated to establish themselves in the market: Benefitness, Colap, Made in Me, me!Humanity, NudaProp.com, and Tierranueva. In 2018, the CIE organized 75 activities aimed at fostering an entrepreneurial mindset, raising awareness, and training young people in their development as entrepreneurs, as well as providing sponsorship for their projects. These events, in which more than 1,600 students and graduates participated, included meetings with entrepreneurs, challenges, inspirational talks, workshops with companies, networking sessions, and presentations to selection committees.