Santa Catarina state elected to be new epicenter for startups in Brazil -Sebrae

Small tech companies in Santa Catarina have a new reason to celebrate.

Sebrae on Thursday chose the small Southern Santa Catarina state as its newest and most important center for startups in the country. The announcement was made during the Startup Summit, an innovation event held this week in Florianópolis.

What does it mean?

In practice, it means that Santa Catarina will become Sebrae’s innovative cradle for all issues and news related to small technology-based companies in the country.

According to Sebrae, the proposal is to replicate the gains and lessons of the program for the entire base of Sebrae-affiliated startups nationwide.

The program aims to connect startups with investment funds and angel investors. It will also map innovation ecosystems across the country and connect founders interested in intellectual capital with regional universities.

“This hub starts here, but it will go all over the country,” says Luc Pinheiro, technical director of Sebrae Santa Catarina. “There is innovation and maturity here.”

What’s new for entrepreneurs?

As part of the regional innovation program launch, Sebrae also announced the formatting of a global initiative aimed at entrepreneurs and owners of small and medium-sized enterprises.

The only association in Brazil authorized by the United Nations Organization (UNO) to bring its traditional entrepreneurship program, Empretec Startups, to Brazil also received approval to restructure it.

Now, the Brazilian version of Empretec will have a new format and content adapted by Sebrae – according to the association – to reflect the new moment in the universe of startups in Brazil.

Empretec is a 50-hour training program whose content is now adapted to the new situation of entrepreneurship in Brazil, helping startups validate their ideas.

At the end of the immersion, real investors can evaluate founders in seminars. The first of these events will take place in São Paulo from September 5 to 9.

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