Accelerator registrations open for the Start-Up Brazil Program

Public call aims to qualify up to 12 accelerators to support startups

 
The public notice to qualify Start-Up Brasil Program accelerators in the period from 2015 to 2016 is open until January 31, 2015. The program is an initiative of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), with operational management by Softex, in partnership with accelerators throughout Brazil. Launched through the Department of Informatics Policy (Sepin), the third edition of the public notice aims to qualify the institutions that support the process of accelerating nascent companies (startups). The ordinance was published on December 1, 2014 in the Official Gazette of the Union and proposals can be submitted until January 31, 2015.
 
The public call will qualify up to 12 accelerators. Selection criteria will take into account issues such as competitiveness; project; Law Suit; services; initial financial investment in selected projects; follow-up and advice, for a specified period, in technical, legal and marketing aspects; and bringing entrepreneurs and new companies closer to potential clients and investors.
 
Qualified accelerators will be responsible for spreading and stimulating an entrepreneurial culture, contributing to the insertion of Brazilian nascent companies abroad, as well as for attracting nascent companies from abroad to the country, in addition to making capital contributions, in the minimum amount of R$ 20,000 – notably seed money -, whether in the form of a donation, loan or shareholding, in each start-up company selected by the Start-UP Brasil program.
 
The qualification process will take place through analysis of the proposal of the interested institution. The proposal, in non-editable electronic A4 format (Acrobat pdf format), must be sent exclusively to the following email address: startupbrasil@mcti.gov.br.
 
For the analysis and qualification process, a panel of at least five specialists will be constituted, with notable experience in technological innovation processes and/or the development process of start-ups. The dissemination of results and the publication of qualified accelerators are scheduled for March 2015.
 
Start-Up Brasil, the National Startups Acceleration Program, is an initiative of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI) with operational management by Softex, in partnership with accelerators, which aims to support nascent technology-based companies, the so-called startups . The program also has partnerships with the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil) for the selection of international startups and physical space in Silicon Valley, California, and with the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development – CNPq to selection of national startups. Site: www.startupbrasil.org.br.