Brasília – Most of the enterprises seeking innovation are small-sized, said the Brazilian minister of Science and Technology, Sergio Rezende, this Thursday (19th).
"The highest number of projects approved is among those submitted by small innovative companies in areas such as software and biotechnology," said Rezende, referring to economic subvention made available by the Studies and Projects Funding Body (Finep).
The Finep’s economic subvention is a mechanism for supplying non-reimbursable funds to support innovation in enterprises. In 2010, 500 million Brazilian real (US$ 285 million) were made available by means of an edict. The aim is to fund projects in six fields: information technology and communication, energy, biotechnology, healthcare, defence and social development. In the field of energy, for instance, proposals may be presented for developing electric automobiles.
Companies of any size may apply. Nonetheless, 40% of the funds should be allocated to small and micro companies. The minimum value per project is 500,000 real (US$ 285,000) and the maximum is 10 million (US$ 5.7 million). Enterprises interested may enrol up until October 7th by filling in a form that will be available on the FInep website starting on August 31st.
According the ministry’s balance sheet, since 2006, the Finep has allocated over 1.7 billion real (US$ 970 million) in economic subvention to 2,600 different enterprises.
In spite of underscoring the demand for funding from companies, Sergio Rezende pointed out that the growth of innovation in the private science and technology sector is a challenge in years to come. To the minister, the culture of investing in technological production is not yet established among Brazilian entrepreneurs, because for years, science and technology policies did not work in tandem with industrial ones, and there were no stimulus mechanisms.
"This [innovation] is the key for Brazilian companies to become competitive, gain market share, and internationalize themselves. They are making progress in this field, but we need more," he claimed.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
