Wow, 154 at once. That's impressive. I'm very interested to see how this turns out. With these kind of numbers you really might end up generating a startup hub. It's a comparatively cheap experiment, considering the upside if it works.
Start-Up Chile is the closest I've seen to anyone trying to implement what you described in: http://paulgraham.com/maybe.html
I was funded in the last round of ~80 startups. Experiencing it first hand I think they're well on way to creating a startup hub. The only thing holding them back is bureaucracy that comes with the government funding. This leaves many teams spending too much time worrying about the process rather than their startup.
I really don't mind at all, of course. I think it is a great program and a great country. Many years ago I visited Santiago Chile on a vacation, and I couldn't help but feel like the culture was very "capitalist" at the time. Rather than the beggars you might find in many countries, the kids were selling coke or cigarettes, etc. The cabbie we met at the airport was efficient, dedicated, responsive, and ended up providing all the rides we needed the whole trip.
If there's any people who are primed for the transition to a vibrant entrepreneurial culture, I think they are it.
But, $40k for at least one entrepreneur to come and spend 6 months meeting with local entrepreneurs seems reasonable, and if any of the companies are successful, that's a big bonus.