Description of Challenge:

Even in the world major economies where big businesses lead the markets and dictate the courses to innovation, Small Businesses (MPEs) answer for a large part of the economy and generally are the main job generators. However, small businesses have a very high mortality rate and suffer with lack of access to markets, empowerment and qualified personnel. There are huge challenges to be overcome involving qualification of businessmen, the high complexity in tax, labor and legal proceedings, lack of tools, need of infrastructure, to name a few. We believe that, through innovation and collaboration, it is possible to stimulate entrepreneurship and enable the increase of competitiveness and sustainability of micro and small enterprises.

Opportunities for Startups:

• » New tools and technologies in business management (teams, marketing, sales, etc.) appropriate to the micro and small entrepreneur’s reality;
• » Solutions to enable more access to credit, development mechanisms and investors;
• » Solutions in production development mechanisms for increase of scalability, innovation capacity, business expansion and internationalization;
• » New work environments enabling the development of micro and small businesses;
• » Accounting and financial management platforms to simplify the entrepreneur’s operations (e.g. invoicing);
• » ERP, CRM services offers (e.g. customers’ loyalty to small retail), sales intelligence, issue of e-NF (electronic invoice), accounting, issue of payment forms and other centralized processes to meet the needs of micro and small enterprises in order to facilitate the adoption of technological solutions and empowerment / qualification for use of tools (example: by means of applications);
• » Access to research resources and collaborative knowledge networks;
• » Solutions to encourage / facilitate the creation of startups in universities and others;
• » Access to empowerment and training programs.