Monthly Archives: February 2024

In February, the AMAZ team met in Iranduba, Amazonas, immersed in planning, with support from Move Social.

Already in its fourth Business Call and at a time of portfolio review, the accelerator is preparing for a new phase. Strategic planning began in 2023, culminating in a three-day immersion in February and continues with the modeling and review of the Theory of Change.

Established in 2021 in an innovative and pioneering way, based on a hybrid financing fund blended finance) of R$ 25 million for investment in impact businesses over five years, the first focused exclusively on the region, AMAZ's ambition is to further expand its operations in the Amazon region, going beyond business acceleration and increasing the delivery of positive impact .

With new team members, changes in portfolio management and improvement in business selection, as a result of the experience of years of operation, AMAZ has been reflecting and generating changes in its operations, carefully outlined in planning.

“AMAZ’s role is to support entrepreneurs with capital, knowledge, connections and everything else necessary to boost their growth. We are now planning for a new phase, contributing even more to supporting entrepreneurs with capital, knowledge and connections and to fostering and creating in practice an ecosystem of impact and innovation in the Amazon”, says Mariano Cenamo, CEO of AMAZ.

Photo: Manawara publicity

After opening its first franchise in January, in Manaus, Manawara opened its second unit in São Paulo.

The new unit is located in Shopping Parque da Cidade, in Chácara Santo Antônio, south of São Paulo. This is the second franchise in a series scheduled to open in 2024.

Two more units should be opened in São Paulo this semester. Two units are also planned for the year in Rio de Janeiro and one in Belo Horizonte. And Manawara is still in the final phase of negotiating four other units.

The move comes after the opening of a point of sale in São Paulo, in May last year, which also functioned as a business showroom to attract future franchisees.

Mércio Sena, CEO of the company, highlights that Manawara should deliver 10 franchised units this year, with the firm intention of expanding access to Amazonian flavors. Our franchise model offers more than 20 products, including fruit candies of different flavors, nuts and cookies. Foods such as açaí, guaraná, taperebá and cupuaçu are present in jujubes and other vegan products, free of gluten and lactose. And we plan to close the year 2024 with 15 new products.

The company has invested in product and packaging development over the past few years. The effort has been rewarded with important recognition. Manawara has already participated in the biggest food and beverage fairs in the world and Europe – Anuga and Sial. Through Sial, it won the Innovation Seal in 2020. And it was also awarded by the Brazil Design Awards for the packaging developed for fruit candies, also in 2020.

In its production chain, Manawara seeks to value producers from the Amazon region. The guaraná used comes from Maués, the nuts come from Assoab (Association of Farmers of Beruri), which operates in Resex Mamirauá. The starch in the cookies comes from Iranduba, the honey from Boa Vista do Ramos, the coconut flour from producers in Acre.

In February, the director of new business at Idesam and founder of AMAZ, Mariano Cenamo, joined the team of social entrepreneurs at Ashoka, the largest global network of social entrepreneurs.

Over 20 years in the Amazon, Cenamo has acted as a driver of a new economy, contributing to the construction of an impactful business ecosystem and reimagining the financing of this construction.

“Cenamo’s creativity and experiences inform and energize Ashoka’s vast network of 1,800 social entrepreneurs who are working for systemic change in the environmental area. We believe that each person and organization that joins our community strengthens the trust and impact of others,” says Andrea Margit, vice president of Ashoka in Latin America.

In 10 years, Mariano foresees the emergence of a significant number of locally developed businesses in the Amazon, creating a center of innovation in the region that will attract international attention from investors and open up new entrepreneurial opportunities in the forest.

Idesam's goal is to invest at least R$ 100 million in the Amazon bioeconomy over the next few years. This will require at least 100 market agents, including client companies and partners; support or development of 90 sustainable value chains; and support for more than 220 businesses, social organizations and solutions.

For Cenamo, the construction of an Amazonian bioeconomy will only be achieved with collaboration between various actors, based on the formation of networks of people, organizations, entrepreneurs, investors and financiers who have complementary capabilities and skills. “In the Ashoka community, I hope to exchange experiences and build collaborations with other social entrepreneurs. Let’s liven up this dream together,” he says.