Sebrae (Brazilian Support Service for Micro and Small Enterprises) has more than seven million customers using its services and products, including MEI (Individual Micro Entrepreneurs) and MSE (Micro and Small Companies). There are 20 million CNPJ (National Registry of Legal Entities) in the country, which accounts for about 30% of the national GDP (gross domestic product) and 52% of the country’s official jobs. For the past five years, those who need to keep up to date have simply registered for the largest event for entrepreneurs in the country, the Startup Summit, which takes place in Florianopolis.

In its 5th edition, the event, which started this Thursday (4th) and will end this Friday (5th), managed to break its own audience record with 30 thousand participants, between an online audience and more than six thousand people, who visited CentroSul, at Centro da Capital, to read lectures and build relationships with giants such as Google and Amazon, accelerators and investors. The Startup Summit, organized by Sebrae in partnership with Acate (Technology Association of Santa Catarina) and Acif (Business Association of Florianopolis), marked the opening of Floripa Conecta.

Florianopolis is the Brazilian capital with the highest density of start-ups per inhabitant in the country — Photo: Fabricio Almeida/Sebrae/ND

With more than 5,800 technology companies employing over 31,000 people, Florianópolis has become the Brazilian capital with the highest density of start-ups per inhabitant in the country. Santa Catarina also stands out as 6% of the state’s GDP comes from the area. In Santa Catarina, there are 20,000 companies in this sector, and 135,000 in the country, with an average of eight people per company, that is, a million Brazilians work in this segment.

vigorous

Among the more than 6,000 attendees at the event was lawyer Jennifer Carina Pereira, 26, CEO of DataCertify, who traveled from Itajaí for the startup summit. Her startup was created in 54 hours during a competition. “The general idea is to replace the service provided by notaries with a notarial act. We have been working on the development of the company since 2020 and since the beginning of this year we have been at the stage of validation in the market,” he commented. Jennifer said she went to the event in search of innovation. “Events like this make us leave with a lot more energy and a lot more desire to make it happen,” he said.

Appeal to investors

The Startup Summit was opened by the Managing Director of Sebrae in Santa Catarina, Carlos Enrique Ramos Fonseca, who thanked the strategic partners and recalled that the summit was opened by Floripa Conecta, which brings together more than 50 creative events in 10 days. economy. Addressing the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Paulo Alvim, Fonseca thanked the Minister for honoring another Sebrae event, as well as for launching the open-source Inova SC TV channel on July 6, which was launched last month in partnership with ND Group and is aimed at entrepreneurs.

National Sebrae President Carlos Melles said the pandemic has forced everyone to rethink – Photo: Fabrício Almeida/Sebrae/ND

Fonseca said the Startup Summit was the country’s premier tech gathering, with more than 100 speakers presenting information to entrepreneurs, in addition to a fair that connects with 55 national and international exhibitors, in addition to 120 startups showcasing products.

“We also have an environment where investors get closer to our entrepreneurs. We have attracted 50 investment funds, plus accelerators to attract and attract investments in our startups. The companies have presented themselves and investors are evaluating the investment opportunities of the companies that are here,” said Fonseca.

Expansion into Latin America

Sebrae-SC Innovation Manager Jefferson Reis Coelho said the Startup Summit has two main aspects: content, presentations by speakers of national and international renown, and contacts. “This event is becoming more and more important not only for Florianopolis and Santa Catarina, but also for the country. About 40% of attendees travel from out of state to attend the event in person. Online more than 80% from other regions,” he stressed.

Sebrae will try to bring Latin America to the summit next year, Coelho said. “We have conversations with countries like Chile, Argentina, Colombia who have a very interesting calling to work on the creative economy and technology, and we will certainly expand our tents to make this an event at the Latin American level.”

Sebrae-SC Communications and Marketing Consultant Spyros Diamantaras spoke about the importance of the event in bringing the institution closer to youth. “When Sebrae puts on an event with that face, for this audience, it sends a signal to the community that it’s for everyone, whether they want to start a business or a more structured company. The important thing is that Sebrae has the best tools and strategies for everyone.”

National Sebrae President Carlos Melles said the pandemic has forced everyone to rethink. “The first gratitude should be to God for being alive, full of hope and thinking that through science, technology and knowledge we can improve the lives of people in Brazil and around the world. You are not only here to improve Brazil. We want you to reach the international level,” Melles said, addressing the entrepreneurs present in the hall.

Quality jobs

Minister Paulo Alvim noted that start-ups mean quality jobs, good remuneration, but mostly it’s billing. He congratulated the organization of the event and classified the Startup Summit as the largest in the industry in the country, and also spoke about the main challenge of the category: “It’s not about creating innovative solutions, startups are great at this. The problem is market access. With access to the market, I can fundraise. I have no doubt that this is the biggest national event to appear on the international calendar soon.”

Minister Paulo Alvim emphasized that start-ups mean quality jobs – Photo: Fabricio Almeida/Sebrae/ND

Mayor of Florianopolis Topazio Neto said that he had the pleasure of participating in the startup summit as a visitor, speaker, exhibitor, but in 2022 he has the honor of being the mayor of Florianopolis. He recalled that August is the month when the city needs movement the most, and that Floripa Conecta’s programs, including the startup summit, aim to attract people to the city, encourage the creative economy, create movement, jobs and income.

“Technology has definitely entered the DNA of the city. We breathe technology and use everything that comes to diversify and develop other sectors: tourism, gastronomy, housing, it all goes hand in hand. Hotels and restaurants in the city are full, which is good,” he said.

Mayor Topacio Neto said that Florianopolis breathes technology – Photo: Fabrício Almeida/Sebrae/ND

Certificates sold out in a month

According to Luis Aurelio Alzamor Gonçalves, communications manager for the national Sebrae, the startup summit is taking place in Florianopolis because of the local innovation ecosystem, which is important for the development of innovation in the country in all areas, not just technology.

Alzamora recorded that Sebrae makes 3.5 million monthly calls through its digital channels and highlighted the novelty of the Inova SC channel. “This is a program about innovation and on an open channel. The content is quite technical, but it also has general information and local content created by ND.”

Natalia Bertussi, startup coordinator at Sebrae, said the organization had some concerns about public participation in the event, but the seats had sold out a month before. “We are doing different activities, not just focusing on content. We have parallel actions, such as bringing investors and large companies closer to start-ups. We kept startups as a show at the event and created an entire ecosystem around them to support them,” said Natalya.