
According to the president of FIEAM, Antonio Silva, the Equity Investment Fund aims to improve and oxygenate an important economic vector, boosting innovative entrepreneurship and providing a healthy business environment. “The objective is not only to change the financial scenario for companies in the region, but also to support research and development initiatives, structuring laboratories and business development”, said Silva.
During the launch event of the FIP FIEAM (Investment Fund in Participations of Industries of the Industrial Pole of Manaus) at SESI Clube do Trabalhador, the legal advisor to the Presidency of FIEAM, Rafael Oliveira, highlighted the indispensable partnership of the president of the Technological Education Center do Amazonas (Cetam) José Augusto de Melo Neto, and has already announced the projects for the construction of Cetam/IEL and the School of Tourism, the latter also in partnership with the Federation of Trade in Goods, Services and Tourism of the State of Amazonas (Fecomercio).
Cetam/IEL will offer technical courses to prepare human resources for the job market, for the population aged 15 to 28, lasting up to 3 years.
According to Oliveira, 62% of the population aged between 15 and 28 years, do not study, do not work and are not preparing to work, and this portion of the population that in the future will compose the workforce for economic development, needs to be developed and FIEAM needs to contribute in some way to this, and the way it is being done is through partnerships.
Industry participation – Companies can give their share of contribution, through the FIP FIEAM, which is a multi-shareholder Venture Capital fund, structured with R&D resources or private capital, to invest in the generation of Technology Companies with Global Impact in the Amazon .
The fund will invest between R$ 500 thousand and R$ 5 million in industry 4.0 startups, which support the digitization of local companies; bioeconomy businesses that take advantage of the region's biodiversity potential; fintechs, which facilitate credit for Amazonian companies; and travel techs that have a positive impact on tourism.
The choice of the fund's investment verticals took place after a dialogue with the industries of Amazonas, which reported the main pains and opportunities that could be remedied by the favored startups. To optimize the process, the first investment will be allocated to the venture builder of startups of FIEAM itself, which intends to invest and accelerate around 50 new regional businesses in the next 4 years, with a focus on company builders, aiming to provide all the necessary support for the construction of a successful journey. Applications for the venture builder will be open from April 5th to May 5th.
According to Rafael Moreira, Bertha Capital's CEO, the fund will be responsible for investing in approximately 15 more robust businesses and, therefore, decided to inaugurate with the contribution to the venture builder, which will be in charge of investments in smaller startups.
“Our idea is to create a ripple effect, in which the first investment strengthens a larger company, which in turn will empower several early stage businesses, which are the majority in the region. This is our first fund with the support of a parastatal, that is, an entity that, even though it is not part of the State administration, provides services to the population and collaborates with the collective well-being. Together, we want to encourage technology-based entrepreneurship in the Amazon and capitalize on local companies,” he says.
Investments in the North
data of Brazilian Startup Association (Abstartups) show that 68.9% of startups in the North region never received investments. Among those that have already received, Venture Capital represents only 7.1% of the total. Thus, the fund arrives with the objective not only of changing the financial scenario for companies in the region, but also of supporting research and development initiatives, structuring laboratories and business development.