Anyone can be an entrepreneur at any stage of life
En la provincia de Entre Ríos, sobre las orillas del tiempo y del conocimiento, un antiguo centro cultural fue transformado en un espacio donde las ideas técnicas pueden convertirse en trabajo genuino. MiradorTEC Lab no es simplemente una inauguración gubernamental, sino una apuesta por retener el talento local y construir una economía que no dependa de la extracción sino de la creación. En un país que ha visto partir a sus mentes más brillantes, la pregunta que este hub plantea es tan antigua como urgente: ¿puede una región decidir, deliberadamente, convertirse en el lugar donde el futuro se fabrica?
- Entre Ríos lanza una apuesta audaz: convertirse en el polo de industria del conocimiento más importante de Argentina, en un contexto donde las provincias compiten por retener talento y generar empleo de calidad.
- La tensión central no es técnica sino humana: ¿cómo evitar que jóvenes capacitados emigren cuando no encuentran infraestructura ni oportunidades para desarrollar sus ideas en su propia tierra?
- El modelo busca romper el aislamiento tradicional entre universidades, empresas y emprendedores, reuniéndolos físicamente en un ecosistema donde la colaboración no sea aspiracional sino estructural.
- Desde los doce hasta los noventa años, el hub declara que el emprendimiento no tiene edad, apostando por una inclusión que va más allá del discurso y se traduce en puertas literalmente abiertas.
- El éxito aún está por escribirse: las oficinas comienzan a ocuparse, las alianzas se anuncian, pero la verdadera medida será si los empleos se materializan y si las empresas que nazcan aquí eligen quedarse.
Un jueves de fines de mayo, Entre Ríos inauguró MiradorTEC Lab en el histórico Centro Cultural La Vieja Usina, transformando un espacio cultural en un hub tecnológico con una ambición declarada: liderar la industria del conocimiento en Argentina. El gobernador Rogelio Frigerio no habló de simbolismos sino de liderazgo concreto. "Podemos aspirar a ser líderes en Argentina", dijo ante empresarios, académicos y emprendedores reunidos en la ceremonia.
El corazón del proyecto es su modelo integrador: reunir en un mismo espacio físico a universidades, empresas privadas y emprendedores que normalmente operan en mundos separados. La idea es que alguien con una idea técnica pueda entrar, encontrar colaboradores, acceder a mentorías y transformar ese proyecto en una empresa generadora de empleo. Frigerio subrayó que el objetivo no es cualquier trabajo, sino empleo de calidad que mejore el nivel de vida y evite la fuga de talentos provinciales.
Silvia Torres Carbonell, madrina del proyecto, enmarcó el emprendimiento como un acto cívico: "Argentina se engrandece con ciudadanos que crean valor". Por su parte, la vicegobernadora Alicia Aluani destacó el peso simbólico de recuperar un centro cultural para una misión nueva, subrayando que el espacio está diseñado para recibir a personas en cualquier etapa de su desarrollo personal y profesional.
El director del proyecto, Carlos Pallotti, fue enfático en la inclusividad: el hub convoca desde los diez o doce años hasta los noventa, porque el emprendimiento no reconoce límites etarios. La Universidad Tecnológica Regional de Paraná y otros actores académicos estuvieron presentes, señalando un compromiso institucional con la articulación entre educación y economía productiva.
Las oficinas ya comenzaron a ocuparse con empresas desarrollando proyectos tecnológicos, pero los organizadores son conscientes de que esto es apenas el punto de partida. El verdadero desafío está por delante: que las colaboraciones produzcan empresas viables, que los empleos prometidos se concreten, y que Entre Ríos logre construir el ecosistema de innovación regional que hoy solo existe como promesa y arquitectura.
On a Thursday in late May, Entre Ríos opened the doors to MiradorTEC Lab, a technology hub housed in a repurposed cultural center, betting that the province could become Argentina's epicenter for knowledge-based industry. Governor Rogelio Frigerio stood at the ribbon-cutting ceremony at Centro Cultural La Vieja Usina and made the ambition plain: this was meant to be a serious move toward leadership, not a symbolic gesture.
The facility brings together three worlds that rarely occupy the same room—universities, private companies, and entrepreneurs with ideas but no infrastructure. Already, offices were occupied by firms working on technological projects. The model is straightforward: create a physical and intellectual space where someone with a technical idea can walk in, find collaborators, access mentorship, and transform that idea into a business that generates jobs. Frigerio told reporters that this was precisely the point. "We want the most important knowledge industry hub in Argentina, and this is another step toward that goal," he said. "We can aspire to be leaders in Argentina."
The governor framed the initiative as fundamentally about employment. Not just any work, but quality jobs—the kind that improve living standards and keep talented people from leaving the province. He emphasized that Entre Ríos had the raw material: young people with technical skills, entrepreneurs with vision, and a provincial government willing to build the conditions for that talent to flourish. "The most important thing is that talent transforms into work and real opportunities," he said.
Silvia Torres Carbonell, who served as the project's official sponsor and was recognized during the ceremony, echoed this vision. She spoke about value creation through knowledge and innovation as engines of development, and she positioned entrepreneurship as a civic act. "Argentina becomes great through citizens who create value," she said. She committed to supporting the hub's growth alongside other sector leaders, framing it as a regional development opportunity that could benefit both private ventures and social organizations.
Vice Governor Alicia Aluani highlighted the symbolic weight of the location itself. The old cultural center was being reclaimed and repurposed for a new mission—technological and educational. She stressed that the space was designed to welcome people at any stage of their journey, whether they already knew their strengths or were still discovering them. The goal was to provide tools for personal and professional development within an innovation ecosystem.
Carlos Pallotti, the project director, made a point of emphasizing inclusivity. The hub welcomes participants from age ten or twelve through ninety. "Anyone can be an entrepreneur at any stage of life," he said, inviting the community to visit and consider launching projects. He stressed that the real work happens through collaboration and networking—bringing people with innovative ideas together, helping them learn, and encouraging them to take the leap into new ventures.
Academic and business leaders participated in the ceremony, underscoring the importance of connecting the education system to the productive economy. The Regional Technological University of Paraná was among those present, signaling institutional buy-in. The consensus from the stage was that knowledge-based development, properly supported by government and integrated across sectors, could become a genuine engine of regional growth.
As the ceremony concluded, officials spoke of MiradorTEC Lab as a starting point—the foundation of something larger. The expectation is that this hub will eventually anchor a broader innovation ecosystem in Entre Ríos, one that could compete nationally. Whether that ambition materializes depends on what happens next: whether the offices fill, whether the collaborations produce viable companies, whether the jobs materialize. For now, the doors are open.
Citas Notables
We want the most important knowledge industry hub in Argentina, and this is another step toward that goal. We can aspire to be leaders in Argentina.— Governor Rogelio Frigerio
Argentina becomes great through citizens who create value.— Silvia Torres Carbonell, project sponsor
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does a province need a technology hub? Isn't that something that happens naturally in big cities?
It doesn't happen naturally anywhere anymore. You need to build the conditions. Entre Ríos is competing with Buenos Aires, Córdoba, everywhere else. Without a physical space where entrepreneurs can meet, where universities connect to companies, where someone with an idea can find collaborators and mentorship, the talent just leaves.
So this is about keeping people there?
Partly. But it's also about creating something new. The governor kept saying "quality employment." That's the real target. Not just jobs—jobs that pay well, that use people's skills, that make them want to stay and build something.
The director said anyone from age ten to ninety can participate. That seems very broad. How does that actually work?
It's inclusive by design. A ten-year-old might come to learn coding or robotics. A forty-year-old with a business idea comes to find a technical co-founder. A retiree with expertise comes to mentor. The hub is the connective tissue.
What's the risk here? What could go wrong?
The offices are already occupied, which is a good sign. But hubs fail when they become ghost towns or when they're just subsidized real estate. The real test is whether the collaborations produce actual companies, whether those companies survive, whether they hire locally.
Why does it matter that they repurposed an old cultural center instead of building something new?
It's symbolic and practical. You're saying: we value what was here, but we're transforming it for what comes next. It's not about erasing the past; it's about evolution. And practically, you save money and time.
The governor mentioned this could make Entre Ríos a leader in Argentina. Is that realistic?
It's ambitious. But if the ecosystem works—if universities feed talent, if companies invest, if the government keeps supporting it—then yes, it's possible. Argentina doesn't have a dominant tech hub outside Buenos Aires. There's room.