Visit to the Santiago Stock Exchange

After lunch on Thursday, we visited the Santiago Stock Exchange, known in Spanish as Bolsa de Comercio de Santiago. While we still have another day for activities in Chile, this was our final business meeting, and a great way to conclude the educational portion of the trip. Alejandra Cooper, a Financial Education Analyst for the Santiago Stock Exchange (SSE), gave a presentation on the history of the SSE and its building, as well as the ways in which the market operates. The SSE was founded on November 27, 1893, in attempt to stimulate the national economy. Construction of the current building started in 1913, and was finally completed in 1917. Up until the 1930s, a majority of the publicly traded companies were part of the mining industry. Now, the market is much more diverse, consisting of companies in the construction/real estate, retail, utility, commodity, and banking industries.

(Santiago Stock Exchange, Est. 1893)

The SSE is a multi-product stock exchange, as it offers not only stocks, but fixed income instruments and money market instruments, as well. It is accompanied in Chile by the Valparaiso Stock Exchange, founded in 1892, and the Electronic Stock Exchange, founded in 1989; the SSE is responsible for 96% of shares traded throughout the country. It operates similarly to the NYSE, in that there are issuers, investors, and intermediaries; the S.V.S. oversees and regulates the entire process. Issuers are comprised of the central bank, various private banks and financial institutions, as well as a multitude of companies. Investors are categorized either by institutional or non-institutional. Institutional investors include pension funds, mutual funds, investment funds, insurance companies, and banks; non-institutional investors include citizens and legal persons above the age of 18, as well as foreigners. In order to purchase stock, investors must go through intermediaries, such as brokers. There are 26 brokerage houses associated with the SSE, and while investors can make their own purchases online, these brokers must finalize all transactions.

(Rudy Blosio, Mike Dalton, and Dustin Brahman become brokers for the day)

Similar to the NYSE’s NASDAQ and DJI, some of the SSE’s main stocks are broken up into equity indexes, such as IPSA and IGPA; there is also the Inter-10, which consists of the NYSE’s top 10 publicly traded stocks. The SSE is a privately owned company, with 11 members making up its board of directors. Since it is privately owned, it is also listed on the market, and has stock available for purchase. The SSE is highly correlated with the U.S. stock market, so it operates during similar hours. During the summer, trade is open from 9:30am – 5pm; during the winter, it is open from 9:30am – 4pm. In order to make international trading more accessible, the SSE joined the Integrated Latin American Market, otherwise known as MILA, in 2011. MILA consists of Chile, Peru, Columbia, and Mexico, and with more than 700 titles to invest in, it has greatly stimulated the SSE and Chile’s economy.

(SSE brokers finalizing stock transactions)

After the presentation, we were lucky enough to get the chance to tour the trading floor. It consisted of a giant, real-time electronic billboard, which was implemented in 1993, as well as 26 computers, one for each brokerage house. We toured the floor while the market was still open, so we got to see some live trades taking place. The presentation and visit to the Santiago Stock Exchange was an event like no other. It was extremely relevant, as most students are studying business at Bryant, and put into perspective how large the international economy really is. Some students had some positive insights regarding the experience:

“The presentation was very informative, and it was interesting to see the similarities and differences between the Chilean and U.S. stock markets.”

-Griffin Casey

            “The volatility of the market makes me want to explore Chilean stock options.”

-Matt Lawson

“I really feel that I expanded my horizons and gained a new perspective on how economics work around the world.”

-Morgan Dickson

(Group picture on the trading floor)

Wayra Visit

"To me entrepreneurship is a lifestyle." -Wayra entrepreneur

This morning we visited Wayra Acadamy in Santiago where we listened to Claudio Barahona, the Business Manager for the Chilean Wayra academy present about the corporation's successes and the challenges.

 Wayra is a corporate business accelerator that works with entrepreneurs who specialize in the technology and telecommunication field. The corporation has 24 locations world wide in countries such as Mexico, Venezuela, and Germany. Each year thousands of hopeful entrepreneurs apply to receive assistance and funding and, more importantly, become part of the innovative and exciting world that is the Wayra.

Baharona presenting to our class

The entrepreneurs are put through an intensive interview and application process in which Wayra executives look for five key elements that the entrepreneurs must have in order to be successful in their acceleration program. One of these elements stood out in particular because of its relevance in Bryant University's curriculum model. Baharona explained that one of the most important things they look for when choosing which entrepreneurs they are going to work with is balance. For example, they are looking for someone who has both the business skills to understand the financial side of making their idea a success but they also need to have a solid understanding and background in the given field that their idea pertains to. In other words they are looking for someone who has a well rounded education, this is promising to hear given that Bryant prides itself on creating well rounded students who have experience in both the College of Business and the College of Arts and Sciences.

Out of the thousands of hopefuls five to eight eager entrepreneurs are accepted into the Wayra twelve month acceleration program. The lucky few are then given anywhere from $50,000 to $150,000 and in return give Wayra 5-10% equity in their business. Over the next twelve months they have the opportunity to work in Wayra's facilities with the 13,000 employees they have world wide. Barahona explained that they work with the entrepreneurs to create a sustainable product. The process that they use to do this paralleled that of the "design thinking" model that freshmen at Bryant University are immersed in during the Bryant IDEA program. Hearing this confirmed that Bryant students are well prepared with real life skills that are currently being implemented on a global scale.

Wayra believes in the motto "Success is 1% the idea and 99% execution." That being said, Wayra recognizes that not all of the entrepreneurs ideas will be successful. Still, the corporation is confident that the profits made from their successes will compensate for the losses. The Wayra Chile location has nearly a one to one success to failure ratio and has consistently made a profit in all of the five years they have been running the acceleration program.

A blackboard in one of Wayra's lounge areas that displays some inspiring words of wisdom written by the entrepreneurs currently in the 12 month program.

Barahona concluded his presentation with commercials from a few of their successful programs. Their successes ranged from applications that are used to assist musicians and engineers to programs that allow television watchers to view real time updates on social media directly on their television screen. These videos clearly interested many of the members of our group as, he followed this up with an in depth question and answer session.

John with his t-shirt

Just when it seemed as though his presentation was over he told the group that he had a present for us. The problem was his present was a single t-shirt and there were forty one students in the room. He had a creative solution, however. Barahona challenged all of us to a simultaneous game of rock, paper, scissors. After the first count of three he knocked about half of the room out of the game and it came to a final dual between Keighan and John. John emerged triumphant and proudly showed off his new Wayra t-shirt.


This visit was eye opening in that it showed us the energetic and quirky side of the business world as opposed to more dry and repetitive side that many of us have seen through either internships, job experience, or through friends and family. Additionally, we were able to see that the eduction that we are currently receiving at Bryant is truly going to prepare us well for our future careers in whatever field they may be. After the visit was concluded many students had enthusiastic reviews stating that:

"I enjoyed how they focused on helping companies start up in their own countries instead of helping them move to America." Ryan Frank

"I loved how expansive Wayra was and how it was full fledged immediately in multiple locations across the globe." Charles Papagiannopoulos
"Interesting how four guys can run an entire start up accelerator when there are so many aspects to a business and these guys have to control and improve all of them with each start up they invest in" Matt Gosselin

If you are interested in learning more about Wayra, feel free to visit their website using the link below or check out their Twitter @wayrachile and the hashtags

#wayrapower and #wayrafamily

Www.wayra.org/joinus

Our Tour Guide Through Chile

As soon as we got to Chile we had no idea how it was going to compare to being in Argentina. We walked off the plane and saw a woman holding a sign that said Bryant University. This was our tour guide Francisca! Before we started any of our adventures we got to learn a little bit about her background. She was born in Arlington, Virginia and moved to Chile when she was about eight years old. She learned a lot of her Spanish from speaking with her parents but she also went to an elementary school in a Latin neighborhood so she was able to learn a lot through going to school. She was influenced to learn about the history of different places in Chile because her mother was very into it. She has never done any classes for tourism but has been in the industry for two years and does a lot of research through taking tours herself. Her biggest reason for knowing so much was that she had a lot of pride in her country.

Francisca always kept us moving around the city. From the beginning we were doing walking and boat tours around the city. Through Viña del Mar and Santiago we did many activities that everyone enjoyed and did not have much down time to be bored. From speaking with a few of the students on the trip it was easy to tell that we would not have been able to travel and learn as easy as we did without Francisca. Dustin thought she was very enthusiastic and enjoyed learning from her and asking her questions. Michael loved that Francisca was so informative and could answer any question that she asked. Liam though she was very helpful in getting us around the city and always making sure that we were having a good time. Although we were always on the move and may have just wanted to spend the day sleeping, we were happy to have all of the experiences that we did while we were here. 

              Everyone has enjoyed their time with Francisca and we will be sad to not only leave the city but to leave our tour guide that has helped us had an amazing time while in Chile. She allowed us to learn about her country in a way that made us wanted to stay here and that made some people even think about studying abroad in Chile for a semester. We thank her for everything that she has done for us and hope she gets to continue doing what she loves in her city. 

Pueblito Los Dominicanos

Greetings from south of the equator! As we reach the final countdown for our time here in South America (cue the sad music) we had some time today to shop for friends, family, and ourselves. 

After our business meeting this morning with Wayra, an entrepreneur accelerator in Santiago, we traveled to a place on the outskirts of Santiago called, "Pueblito Los Dominicanos". This area originated as a Catholic Church where merchants would go on weekends to sell their goods. Over time, as the success of the area grew, the merchants began to work throughout the entirety of the week and it transformed into a stable marketplace. Approximately 25 years ago Pueblito Los Dominicanos became an official establishment where each seller has their own space in adobe homes in order to showcase their finest handmade products. I talked to Kevin who thought the interaction with the shop owners was the most intriguing part of the stop. "From shop to shop, they were very friendly and accommodating with the American dollar when we lacked the Chilean peso," he said. In regard to price, it varies from store to store, however the high quality of the products is often reflected in a higher price.

The entrance to Pueblito Los Dominicanos
Hola Profesora Gomez!

Upon entering Pueblito Los Dominicanos, the rich culture that comprises Chile is immediately felt.  Each shop has a unique flare, whether it be leather, woodwork, ceramic, knit, copper, paint, etc., and the talent that these craftsmen and craftswomen have is incredible and one of a kind. The attention to detail in each product is prominent, and often times, is made within the walls of their quaint shops. 

One of the ally ways in the village

After meandering around the village of shops for some time, a lunch break was long overdue. A few friends and I stopped at a cafe for a bite to eat where we enjoyed a Latin American favorite, empanadas. Holly even said that she had to have her last bite of empanada before she left for the states, so the decision was easy. Following lunch, we wasted no time, and got right back to shopping.

  

Overall, it was a very successful pit stop in the middle of our busy day. Marta worded the experience perfectly, beyond really liking it, she continued to say, "There were a lot of artisan crafts and it seemed more genuine than other shopping opportunities we have had on the whole SIE trip."  A bonus, we were able to pick up some last minute gifts for loved ones back home before our quickly approaching departure, all while further immersing ourselves in the rich Chilean culture. 

Some of the girls showing off their purchases
From left to right: Maggie, Katie, Emily, Taylor, Holly, Ale

And now off to our next stop, the Santiago Stock Exchange!