The 2nd edition of BRDE LABS Santa Catarina, a program to promote innovation and entrepreneurship created by the Regional Development Bank of Extremo Sul (BRDE), took place 198 startups registered in all areas of Santa Catarina. Among them, 100 were selected to participate in the 2nd edition of BRDE LABS Santa Catarina.

In total, companies were selected from all six SC regions, including 38 from Greater Florianópolis. West Santa Catarina had 10 companies, the north of the state 12, the south 14, while the Itajaí Valley had 22 and the Serra had 4 companies.

These 100 selected startups will have access to workshops, tools, a network of experts for mentoring and will be able to connect with other participants and with the strategic programs of the Santa Catarina Technology Association (ACATE).

At the end of the program, on November 30, the 12 companies having obtained the best performances, will be awarded with amounts of R$10,000 and R$20,000. In this way, two startups will be awarded per mesoregion of Santa Catarina, covering the entire state. BRDE President João Paulo Kleinübing says that thanks to the program it is possible to create a movement to strengthen entrepreneurship.

“With this program, BRDE wishes to support the development of the innovation environment in the southern region. In SC, this is in addition to other state-led initiatives to stimulate innovative entrepreneurship, which promotes increased competitiveness and the creation of qualified jobs,” explains the president.

BRDE encourages innovation

For more than a decade, BRDE has topped the Finep rankings as the largest transferer of resources to innovation projects. In this period, there were more than 600 projects, which totals almost a billion reais in financing. “With the BRDE Labs program, the bank has developed a complementary and continuous non-credit support instrument to support start-up companies that are not served by traditional credit mechanisms,” emphasizes President João.

In South Carolina, the BRDE LABS program was created in partnership with the Santa Catarina Technology Association (Acate), a leading representative of innovative entrepreneurship in the state, to support and encourage the local end-to-end ecosystem, ranging from startups to large corporations. size, in order to generate connections that strengthen the technology sector in SC.