Brazilian Government to award R$9.7mm to tech start-ups
The Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communications (MCTIC) announced the opening of a new phase of the Start-Up Brasil program, which aims to stimulate projects that develop software, hardware, and IT services. Startups are innovative companies, at an early stage
In its third year of operation, the program will offer R$9.7 million to 50 proposals that will receive grants of up to R$200 thousand. The free application form is available on the program website until September 25th.
The team should elect a coordinator, who must have a formal link with the startup, that is, the institution in which the research or technological development project will be executed. Another requirement is that companies have completed a maximum of four years of operation.
The proposals will be judged by a committee of the National Council of Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). The result will be announced on the CNPq website on November 30th.
In the launching ceremony, the minister Gilberto Kassab, stressed that in periods of recession such as what Brazil is going through, it is essential that the government turn to the technology area. “No country can emerge from an economic crisis without investing in technology. This resource allocation seems modest at first, but it is very expressive in this context. With this selection, we will have the opportunity once again to verify that Brazilians have a vocation for Innovation,” he said.
According to the secretary of Information Technology, Maximiliano Martinhão, in addition to giving priority to the segment, the government was careful to give opportunity to startups with a more restricted performance. “We risk depreciating startups that are in certain parts of the country and that have a regional objective, such as Amazon protection startups or with focus on Central West agriculture.”
In the first two cycles of the program, from 2013 to 2015, 183 startups, from 17 states and 13 countries were supported and that stood out among 2,855 proposals. So far, the initiative has generated, according to government estimates, 1.2 thousand direct jobs.
Acceleration of startups
In other rounds, the program also selects the so called accelerators. They have the role of helping startups gain greater visibility, put them in touch with national and international investors, and provide legal, marketing, sales, finance, and staff management guidance.
According to Martinhão, the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) is structuring a program focused on the internationalization of startups. The initiative would complement the lines of the Financing of Studies and Projects (Finep), which, by Finep Startup, helps this type of company solve capital problems and fundraising.
Source: Empresa Brasil de Comunicação
Billy D. Aldea-Martinez, heads up Latin America and Brazil for Piano, the world’s leader SaaS Platform that allows media companies to launch Direct Monetization models, such as metering and paywall solutions for digital content and user data analysis.
Billy is also a Digital Monetization Strategy consultant and exclusively works with Latin America’s largest media groups, such as Editora Abril (Brazil), Grupo Globo (Brazil) as well as Grupo Copesa (Chile).
He also serves as Board Advisor & Angel Investor for adtech & martech startups such as Start-up Chile, Start-up Peru, Parallel18 (PR) Admetricks and Starter Daily.
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