CENDA

What CENDA does

CENDA (Centro de Estudios Nacional para el Desarrollo), legally Fundación CENDA, is a Chilean private non-profit research foundation founded in 1995 and headquartered at Vergara 578, Santiago. It functions as an ideologically heterodox think tank focused on critical analysis of Chilean economic policy — most prominently the AFP privatized pension system, education financing and commercialization, and the national treatment of copper and lithium — and on alternative macroeconomic data and policy proposals that sit outside mainstream economic consensus. Its revenue mechanics are modest and distributed: an online store (cendachile.cl/tienda-cenda) sells books, course registrations, and subscriptions to weekly economic letters by Hugo Fazio and to IMACEI-CENDA monthly reports; recurring schools (summer, winter, autumn, spring) and diploma programs delivered with partner universities provide fee-based educational revenue; commissioned studies (e.g., for Universidad de Chile and CONFECH) and donations supply supplemental income. No commercial technology products, software platforms, or APIs are offered, and no revenue, headcount, or funding figures are publicly disclosed.

The organization's core output is intellectual and informational rather than technological. It publishes extensive long-running data series — daily AFP fund-returns, affiliates and contributors by age/sex, copper and lithium production and exports, the IMACEI-CENDA monthly economic activity index, and the IMOA salaried-occupation index — together with books (via the Editorial USACH partnership), working papers, and policy contributions in outlets such as Routledge, Global Social Policy, and OIT. Distribution is anchored in long-standing partnerships with Editorial USACH, the Universidad Academia Humanismo Cristiano, Universidad de Valparaíso, the Universidad de Chile, UNRISD, UNESCO, and labor federations including the Federación Minera de Chile and CUT, with additional reach via television (CNN, Chilevisión, TV Senado) through Vice President Manuel Riesco.

CENDA is governed as a foundation with no parent company, no subsidiaries, no identified institutional investors, and no funding rounds in the source material. Leadership comprises Vice President Hugo Fazio (a former Vice President of Chile's Central Bank who has produced weekly economic summaries for over 40 years), Vice President Manuel Riesco (author and public commentator on pensions and natural-resource policy), and founding member Alfonso Insunza Bascuñán. The operating footprint is concentrated in Chile, with secondary international engagement through Latin American and UN-affiliated research networks; there is no mobile app, no public SDK or API, and no disclosed certifications or regulatory actions.

Name

CENDA

Legal name

Fundación CENDA

Website

https://cendachile.cl

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

CENDA is a Chilean non-profit research foundation (since 1995) producing heterodox economic analysis, proprietary data series, books, and educational programs on pensions, education, and mining for academic, governmental, labor, and international audiences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Santiago

HQ country

Chile

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CENDA (Fundación CENDA) is a Chilean non-profit research foundation that produces independent economic and social policy research, statistical data series on pensions (AFP), education financing, mining (copper/lithium), employment and GDP, and publishes books, reports, and weekly and monthly economic letters. It also delivers seasonal academic schools and diploma programs in partnership with Chilean universities, and provides commissioned studies and parliamentary testimony for government, labor, and academic clients.

Product overview

CENDA (Centro de Estudios Nacional para el Desarrollo) is a Chilean economic research and education think tank that does not offer commercial technology products or services. Its offerings consist of economic research publications, statistical data series (indices on pensions, education, mining, employment, GDP, and other macroeconomic indicators), educational programs (seasonal schools, diploma programs, courses), and books published through partnerships with Editorial USACH. The organization focuses on critical analysis of Chilean economic policy, particularly regarding pensions (AFP system), education reform, mining taxation, and social policy, rather than commercial product offerings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Cuadernos CENDA: A publication series/document collection under the CENDA brand.

Products and services

• Hugo Fazio Cartas Económicas Semanales (Weekly Economic Letters) Subscription-based weekly economic newsletter produced by Hugo Fazio covering Chilean and global macroeconomic developments, available through the CENDA store and used by academic, policy, and individual subscribers as an ongoing Chilean economic briefing.
• IMACEI-CENDA Monthly Reports Monthly economic activity index and report subscription tracking internal Chilean economic activity, used by analysts, academics, and policy stakeholders as a CENDA-branded alternative to official economic activity indicators.
• CENDA Books (Editorial USACH) Book-length research publications on the Chilean economy, pension system, and twentieth-century state strategies, co-published through Editorial USACH and sold via the CENDA store, including titles such as 'Nueva Previsión' and 'Parto de un Siglo'.
• Cuadernos CENDA Publication Series Document/publication series published under the Cuadernos CENDA sub-brand, covering individual research studies, working papers, and topical analyses on Chilean economic and social policy.
• Diplomado Enfoques Económicos Alternativos Diploma program in alternative economic approaches offered through a CENDA partnership with Universidad Academia Humanismo Cristiano (UAHC), targeting professionals and graduates seeking heterodox macroeconomic training.
• CENDA Seasonal Schools (Summer, Winter, Autumn, Spring) Annual seasonal schools and academic courses delivered by CENDA, including Introduction to Classical Economics and Political Science, registered for directly at CENDA's Vergara 578 headquarters and targeted at students and the general public.
• Commissioned Economic Studies Custom research and analysis studies delivered for institutional clients, including a structural analysis of academic and support staff contracted by Universidad de Chile and a study on higher-education financing commissioned by CONFECH (Confederación de Estudiantes de Chile).

Quantifiable outcome

• Daily pension fund loss tracker introduced during financial crises
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Editorial USACHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing publishing partnership with Universidad de Santiago de Chile's editorial house for books including 'Nueva Prevision', 'Parto de un Siglo', and other CENDA publications.
• Universidad Academia Humanismo Cristiano (UAHC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for 'Diplomado Enfoques Economicos Alternativos' offered through CENDA-UAHC collaboration.
• Universidad de ValparaisominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPreparation of diploma program with Universidad de Valparaiso and courses with FLACSO.
• Universidad de ChileminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversidad de Chile contracted CENDA for structural analysis of academic and support staff at the university.
• CONFECH (Confederacion de Estudiantes de Chile)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCONFECH commissioned CENDA to conduct study on higher education financing in Chile.
• UNRISD (United Nations Research Institute for Social Development)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational research collaboration including publications on mineral rents and social policy in Chile, workshop participation, and research papers.
• UNESCOminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCENDA participated in UNESCO World Social Science Forum. Research contributions on social policy topics.
• Federacion Minera de Chile (FMC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on pension reform and resource nationalism positions. CENDA and Movimiento No+AFP participated together in FMC's 9th Congress.
• ICAL (Instituto de Estudios de la Sociedad)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint declarations and presentations on education reform and against profit-making in education sector.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Chile 21: Chilean centrist think tank that publishes economic and policy research. Comparable to CENDA in subject matter (pensions, education, fiscal policy) and target audience (policymakers, media, academia).
• Fundación Sol: Chilean research foundation focused on labor markets, inequality, and pension analysis. Like CENDA, Fundación Sol produces independent data series and contributes to pension reform debates, making it a closely comparable peer.
• Libertad y Desarrollo (LyD): Chilean right-leaning think tank producing policy research and economic analysis. LyD competes with CENDA for media attention, policy influence, and academic credibility in Chile, even though their ideological positions diverge.
• Centro de Estudios Públicos (CEP): Chile's most prominent mainstream economic think tank. CEP and CENDA operate as ideological counterpoints in Chilean policy debates on pensions, education, and taxation, making them the closest direct comparator in scope and audience.

Broad incumbents

• UNRISD (United Nations Research Institute for Social Development): UN-affiliated research institute working on social policy and development. CENDA is a documented UNRISD partner and collaborator on mineral rents and social policy research, making UNRISD a peer in thematic scope and methodology.
• Oxford Economics: Global economic research and forecasting firm producing macroeconomic indices and subscription reports. Comparable to CENDA's IMACEI-CENDA monthly index and data series products, though at vastly different scale and commercial focus.

Regional players

• FLACSO Chile: Latin American social sciences academic institution with a Chilean office. CENDA delivers courses with FLACSO, and the two share an audience of policy researchers and postgraduate students.
• CLACSO (Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales): Regional academic network for social science research in Latin America. CLACSO is comparable to CENDA in promoting independent regional research and serving as a publication platform for policy analysis.

Emerging players

• Economic Policy Institute (EPI): US-based think tank producing critical economic policy research with a focus on inequality and labor. Comparable to CENDA in heterodox economic framing and policy-advocacy style, though operating at a much larger scale.

Others

• Universidad de Santiago de Chile (USACH) - Editorial USACH: Long-standing publishing partner of CENDA with a university press that publishes CENDA's books. Not a competitor but an ecosystem enabler that co-produces and distributes CENDA's research output.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cenda

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CENDA