Photo: Rodrigo Duarte/AMAZ
In October, representatives of the nine finalist businesses in the AMAZ 2023 Call met in Manaus to begin the pre-acceleration process, the final stage of the selection process that will define which businesses will be accelerated, receive investment and become part of the AMAZ portfolio. accelerator in 2024.
Entrepreneurs were immersed for three days of intense work, in a face-to-face meeting held in Manaus, in which the group worked, individually and collectively, on Model C, including Theory of Change, impact matrix and business model.
These were days in which the trust established among the group allowed everyone to advance in the individual design of their businesses, but also contributed to the advancement of others. The exchange and connections established revolve around shared learning and challenges about entrepreneurship in the Amazon.
“The pre-acceleration workshop aims to be the first face-to-face meeting with the finalist businesses and those potentially selected for investment and acceleration in the next journey. It is a time when we are able to connect the diagnosis of gaps and support demands with the acceleration plan, together with the investment that will be made by AMAZ”, defines Gabriela Sousa, responsible for business acceleration and institutional management at AMAZ/Idesam .
The meeting participants praised the work methodology proposed over the three days, as well as the exchanges and connections, feeling part of a network that shares similar challenges.
“The pre-acceleration workshop helps us deepen the understanding and analysis that we have carried out since the Call, on each of the finalists, and support them with any demands they have, mainly related to impact modeling and design. The result was the creation of Model C for businesses that did not yet know the tool, and improvement for those that had already used it. Furthermore, there was an important exchange of knowledge and the creation of a relationship network between the workshop participants, and some operational partnership projects could emerge from this meeting”, analyzes Rafael Moreira Ribeiro, responsible for business selection at AMAZ/ Idesam.
The businesses participating in the pre-acceleration process are: Amaz Amazon Super Plants, Apoena, ATLAS Florestal, BioAmazon, Coordenada Rural, FarFarm, Flor da Samaúma, MOMA and Zeno Nativo. They were selected from among 112 registrants in the AMAZ 2023 Call.
The nine finalist businesses work with innovative solutions for the development of products and services in strategic value chains for the conservation of the Amazon, such as reforestation and agroforestry production, agriculture, livestock and sustainable rural production, socio-biodiversity products and cosmetics.
They are located in the states of Pará, Amazonas, Amapá, Maranhão, São Paulo and Santa Mônica, California (USA). Call 2023 made it possible to register businesses whose operations take place in the Legal Amazon, but which could also be based in other regions of the country.
The pre-acceleration continues over the course of a month, virtually, with access to advice, mentoring and technical support from the AMAZ team and Idesam (Institute for Conservation and Sustainable Development of the Amazon).
The objective is to help entrepreneurs understand and maximize their business growth capacity in financial, technical, operational terms and, especially, positive socio-environmental impact.
The last stage of the process is participation in a pitch day, which will be promoted by AMAZ at the end of November, and shortly afterwards the businesses selected for acceleration and investment in 2024 will be announced.
