Photo: Rodrigo Duarte/AMAZ
All participants were vaccinated and properly tested against covid-19
Between March 8 and 10, female entrepreneurs from the six businesses selected by AMAZ in 2021 – BRCarbon, Floresta S/A, Inocas, Mahta, SoulBrasil Cuisine and Vivalá – participated in the first face-to-face workshop of the acceleration journey, which took place in Manaus, on the banks of the Rio Negro.
The meeting, facilitated by Sense-Lab, addressed OKRs (objectives and key results), socio-environmental impact management and structure and governance.
Connections marked the three days. Artur Coimbra and Joanna Martins, founders of two businesses in AMAZ's portfolio – Na'kau/Na Floresta and Manioca – reported experiences, challenges and opportunities to undertake in the Amazon and participated in conversation circles with the group.
Marcus Biazatti, from Idesam, spoke with entrepreneurs about the collective brand Inatú, which sells essential oils produced by Amazonian communities and also works with sustainable wood management.
Results, positive impact generated, monitoring methodologies, the nuances of relationships with communities and production chains, forestry entrepreneurship, business and market management were presented.
Connecting entrepreneurs with other impact businesses already operating in the Amazon is one of the offerings of the acceleration journey, providing exchanges that can shorten the solution of problems from similar previous experiences. In addition, connections have the potential to generate partnerships between them, whether in sharing experiences or in market strategies.
present investors
Photo: Rodrigo Duarte/AMAZ
Another connection provided during the meeting involved some AMAZ investors operating in the Amazon.
In a conversation with the business, Denis Minev, Ilana Minev, Marcelo Forma, Mariana Barella and Matheus Faria participated in a frank and open dialogue, addressing topics such as the current stage of the impact business ecosystem in the Amazon, the importance of offering alternatives to deforestation that integrate the populations of the region, the need to invest in research and development to leverage a new economy in the region and to involve academia.
The group also highlighted the importance of realizing that there are different Amazons, which require different solutions, and therefore there is no path that will be common to all. The importance of new generations in designing a new Amazon economy and also in finding the 'right' investors to leverage impact businesses.
Another point addressed concerns the profile of investors and what they expect from startups.
For Daniel Cabrera, from Vivalá, the highlights of the workshop were deepening the strategic alignment and advancing what was built at the pre-acceleration meeting, in November 2021, in addition to the review of impact indicators. He also highlights the connection with investors and Amazonian businesses:
“The integration with AMAZ investors, who are people, those we met, mostly from the north, was very important for us to get closer to relevant actors in the region, people who are directly in the private sector, generating impact. In addition to the integration with all the other entrepreneurs, who even working in very different markets contribute in a very rich way with their visions, their experiences, and this exchange is extremely relevant.”
“The high point is precisely the meeting, the conviviality between this group. And specifically two things for me are very valuable. One was meeting with investors in the region, and the other thing is working with the impact model, which I think we still need to go deeper into,” says Maximiliano Petrucci, from Mahta.
For Letícia Feddersen, from SoulBrasil Cuisine, the connections and experiences with the other participants of the acceleration have been rich and have brought a lot of learning, especially in terms of management and thinking about the impact that can be generated. She also highlights the connection with other businesses operating in the Amazon and with investors:
“With the meeting with investors and other businesses in the region, I felt like I was going through an “MBA” in the culture, experience and business of the Amazon. The connection with other businesses in the region is very rich, and goes beyond acceleration, generating exchanges, synergies, even possible commercial partnerships”
>> Read interview with Denis Minev
>> Discover the six businesses that participate in this acceleration journey
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