Monthly Archives: July 2023

Photo: Rodrigo Duarte

Entrepreneurs from the Cumbaru Parcerias, Ekilibre Amazônia, Manawara, Mazô Maná and Simbiótica businesses, accelerated in 2023 by AMAZ, participate in the last in-person workshop, which will be held in the first week of August, in Manaus.

The meeting has two main focuses: scale and business growth and diagnosis of the acceleration journey.

The program focused on the first focus includes roundtables on governance and challenges in leveraging investments in businesses in the Amazon, with the participation of specialists in the themes. Participants will work on planning fundraising rounds, building individual roadmaps, reviewing and refining pitches and collective exchanges. And they will have the opportunity to participate in a pitch day, presenting their business to guests.

The second focus, analysis of the acceleration journey, comes as a diagnosis of what was developed from the development plan outlined with the businesses at the beginning of the journey and preparation for the next phase of the relationship with the accelerator, when these businesses will be monitored by the business team, responsible for monitoring the implementation and following the journey of each one of them while they are part of the portfolio.

“This month of July comes as a validation of everything that has been done on this journey from the business action plan, which was prepared during the selection process, validated with them at the beginning of the acceleration and executed since the month of January. Now, the idea is precisely to have a diagnosis of this acceleration, understanding the value contributed and the impact of AMAZ on these businesses over the last few months and how they evolved from the initial stage until now”, analyzes Gabriela Souza, AMAZ acceleration coordinator.

“And we will also understand how to reconcile this with the needs for growth and scale for the next stage. Thinking both about the next rounds of funding and about movements in relation to productive, operational capacity, strengthening with suppliers or community partners”.

AMAZ's acceleration journey offers a vast menu of activities along the acceleration journey, which includes individual mentoring and advice, collective thematic webinars and also face-to-face meetings, where exchanges and interactions take place at a closer level, with the collective intelligence of the businesses contributing to the evolution of each one individually.

“The face-to-face meetings bring a lot of strength and are of great importance as a space for exchanging experiences and support in building each other. These moments end up inspiring and encouraging entrepreneurs, generating new questions that can often drive changes in business. This last workshop will help them realize what they built with us throughout the acceleration, together, reflecting not only individual development, but also interesting things that emerged and will still emerge from this interaction”, he adds.

Photo: Cumbaru Parcerias

In early July, Cumbaru Parcerias, a business that is part of AMAZ's portfolio, made a technical visit to the Pasto Vivo project, led by Luxor Agro and Meraki Impact. Located in the municipality of Pontes e Lacerda, Mato Grosso, the Pasto Vivo project has been standing out as one of the references in the implementation of regenerative silvopastoral systems nationwide, and Cumbaru was there to get to know the experience of the project up close and strengthen relations with this partner strategic.

At São Benedito Farm, where the Pasto Vivo project is implemented, several production systems are tested, with variations in tree species, spacing between rows in the tree planting rows and spacing between rows. The objective is to identify the arrangements that present the best performance, considering the interaction between trees, pasture and cattle, so that they can later be replicated at scale.

Another interesting feature of the system being implemented by the project is the holistic management of livestock, following the concepts of Savory Institute. Pasture management and animal stocking are carried out in an unconventional way, but show good zootechnical results in line with good biodiversity and carbon indicators, according to the Institute.

“These were days of much learning and exchange of experiences. We were very happy to strengthen this partnership with the Pasto Vivo Project, because in addition to operating in the same state, Mato Grosso, we work with similar production systems, with similar objectives, such as, for example, the production of calves free of deforestation and the production of Brazil nuts. from baru. We certainly have a lot to learn from each other in the coming years.” analyzes Pedro Nogueira, Co-founder and CEO of Cumbaru.

Photos: Mahta Disclosure

In June, during NaturalTech, Mahta, specialized in natural and regenerative foods, launched organic chestnut milk powder, with 100% of Brazil nuts. In addition, the business announced the entry of a new partner: Chef Thiago Castanho from Pará.

Nut milk powder is a regenerative and sustainable alternative to cow's milk, being 100% natural and whole. It does not contain lactose, gluten, sugar, preservatives, flavors or thickeners.

“We are talking about a commitment to health and the environment. Its nutritional profile is impressive, high in vitamins and low in sugars and carbohydrates. In addition, it is rich in unsaturated fats, such as omega-3, which are essential for heart and brain health. By choosing this product, we are supporting a sustainable and regenerative production model, which values biodiversity and contributes to the preservation of the Amazon rainforest and its natural resources”, analyzes Edgard Calfat, founding partner of Mahta.

Max Petrucci, also founder of the business, points out that the company's mission in its trajectory is to support the AFS model (Agroforestry Systems) and strengthen the positive social impact through fair and solid relationships with small extractive communities in the Amazon.

new partner

Mahta now also has a new partner, the chef from Pará Thiago Castanho, known for his role as presenter of the program “Sabores da Floresta” on Canals Globo, in which he presents viewers with the richness of Amazonian cuisine, exploring typical ingredients, such as tucupi, açaí and jambu, in addition to presenting traditional recipes and techniques.

“I am very happy to become a partner of Mahta. We share a common purpose of learning and sharing forest knowledge with Brazil and the world, as we believe that this valuable knowledge can enrich lives, preserve nature and promote awareness of the importance of biodiversity”, said Thiago Castanho, Brazilian-born chef in Belém do Pará, where he grew up amidst the diversity and richness of Amazonian cuisine. 

“The partnership with Thiago Castanho is a milestone for Mahta. Your knowledge, talent and passion for the Amazon inspire us and strengthen our commitment to sustainability and forest preservation. Together, we intend to further explore the richness of Amazonian cuisine and develop products that value biodiversity and local culture”, says Max.

Participation in Natural Tech

Mahta participated in NaturalTech, the largest natural products fair in Latin America, with its own stand. The business had already experienced participation last year, through the stand of the Amazônia program in Casa Floresta em Pé, promoted by AMAZ, Idesam and Climate Ventures to provide access to markets.

Max evaluates this year's experience as very positive, so much so that Mahta should participate in the fair again in 2024:

“Participation this year was very important, mainly to reinforce reputation. And this has a primary impact on sales, in our case through influencers. Usually, fairs like NaturalTech have retail as their main channel. The brands' main objective is to welcome retailers who go there to do research and learn about new products. We received almost 100 polls from this audience. We are not at that moment, but, on the other hand, a similar mechanism happens with influencers. Many that we still didn't know, or that we weren't close to, came to our stand and gave us feedback on the brand and the product. And we sell about R$ 40 thousand worth of products. For all the reasons, the participation was very good.”