---
title: "Henry Azurmendi, Sercotec: 460 civil servants trained in AI for SMEs — Marsanne Studio AI watch"
description: "Sercotec is rolling out AI among Chilean SMEs and its 460 staff, as 7 in 10 Chilean SMEs already use it, compared with 2.9% in Spain."
url: "https://marsanne.studio/en/ai-watch/henry-azurmendi-sercotec-460-civil-servants-trained-in-ai-for-e70744/"
lang: "en"
---

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Interview · 2 October 2026

# Henry Azurmendi, Sercotec: 460 civil servants trained in AI for SMEs

Original title, in Spanish: “Henry Azurmendi, Sercotec: 460 funcionarios en IA para pymes – El Ecosistema Startup”

**Publication**

El Ecosistema Startup (Spain)

**Author**

Unsigned

**Published on**

2 October 2026 · read in the page structured data

## Summary

Henry Azurmendi, chief executive of Sercotec (the Chilean SME support agency), explains in an interview that AI is being integrated into the production processes of small Chilean businesses, notably in logistics and sales management. According to an Entel study cited by El País Chile, around 7 in 10 Chilean SMEs already use AI. A study by CENIA, SOFOFA, SENCE, Stanford University and the Ministry of Labour estimates that 44% of tasks in Chilean SMEs could be accelerated by generative AI, with a potential of 12% of GDP. Sercotec has trained its 460 staff through an agreement with CENIA and launched the public-private programme "Hazlo con IA". The article compares this situation with Spain, where the IndesIA Barometer 2025 shows that only 2.9% of Spanish industrial SMEs use AI, up from 2.13% in 2024.

Summary based on the full text of the article.

[Read the article on El Ecosistema Startup →](https://ecosistemastartup.com/henry-azurmendi-sercotec-460-funcionarios-en-ia-para-pymes/)

## Figures cited

-   70 %
    
    share of Chilean SMEs using AI at work
    
    Chile, Entel study cited by El País Chile, September 2025
    
    > « cerca de 7 de cada 10 pymes en Chile ya están usando inteligencia artificial en su trabajo diario »
    
    Source: Entel
    
-   44 %
    
    share of mipymes' tasks that could be accelerated by generative AI
    
    Chile, CENIA/SOFOFA/SENCE/Stanford/Ministry of Labour study, 100 occupations and more than 200,000 tasks
    
    > « El 44% de las tareas que realizan las mipymes son susceptibles de acelerarse con IA generativa. »
    
    Source: CENIA, SOFOFA Capital Humano, SENCE, Universidad de Stanford, Ministerio del Trabajo
    
-   12 % of GDP
    
    economic potential of widespread adoption of generative AI
    
    Chile
    
    > « el potencial económico, según el mismo análisis, podría llegar al 12% del PIB si la adopción se masificara »
    
    Source: CENIA, SOFOFA Capital Humano, SENCE, Universidad de Stanford, Ministerio del Trabajo
    
-   2.9 %
    
    share of Spanish industrial SMEs using AI
    
    Spain, IndesIA Barometer 2025, more than 68,000 companies
    
    > « solo el 2,9% de las pymes industriales españolas utiliza inteligencia artificial, según un análisis de más de 68.000 empresas »
    
    Source: IndesIA
    
-   36.2 %
    
    growth in AI adoption by Spanish industrial SMEs between 2024 and 2025
    
    Spain, 2024-2025 comparison
    
    > « la cifra representa un crecimiento del 36,2% respecto a 2024 (cuando era del 2,13%) »
    
    Source: IndesIA
    
-   460 people
    
    number of Sercotec civil servants
    
    Chile, Sercotec, 62 business centres
    
    > « Sercotec cuenta con 62 centros de negocios, distribuidos de Arica a Punta Arenas, con 460 funcionarios en todo el país. »
    

## Classification

**Country**

Chile, Spain

**Company size**

Micro-businesses, SMEs

**Industries**

Retail and distribution, e-commerce · All industries, or industry not specified

**Companies**

Entel (study author), IndesIA (study author), CENIA (study author), SOFOFA Capital Humano (study author), Universidad de Stanford (cited), Sercotec (deploys AI), SENCE (study author), Ministerio del Trabajo (study author)

**Keywords**

pymes, Chile, Spain, generative AI, chatbots, Sercotec

Entry written by Marsanne Studio from the cited article, with the help of an AI model (claude-sonnet-5). The rights to the article and its illustrations belong to El Ecosistema Startup. Entry translated from French by Claude Sonnet 5.5.