Minas Gerais picks 40 startups for acceleration program

Summary: One of the highest-profile initiatives focused on creating an innovation ecosystem in Brazil will kick off next month

Today (14) the 40 startups that have taken part in what is one of the biggest government-sponsored tech entrepreneurship beauty contests in Brazil has been announced.

The Startups and Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Development (SEED) program will take place in Belo Horizonte, capital of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. It will provide up to R$80,000 ($34,000) in equity-free funding to 40 early-stage startups led by up to three people.

Within 22 days from the launch of the application process, some 1367 startups from 32 countries were received by the program. Out of the 40 chosen projects, there are four groups of entrepreneurs from Chine, two from Uruguay, one from Italy and one from India. The remaining projects have been submitted by Brazilians.

Three rounds of the six-month program are expected to take place until the end of 2014. The first round will be split in two intakes in December and early January, to ensure that the adaptation of the chosen entrepreneurs, who in many cases will be moving from other Brazilian regions and countries, is as smooth as possible.

In order to make the moving process for the foreign entrepreneurs easier, the Minas Gerais government and the National Immigration Council set up a partnership whereby the project participants will have a two-year visa.

"To create an highly relevant ecosystem we need diversity of ideas, culture and experiences. That's why the participation of foreigners in the SEED program is so important," says the chief executive at the Minas Gerais State Office for Strategic Priorities, André Barrence.

To view all the selected companies in the first round of the SEED program, visit the project's website.

Angelica Mari is ZDNet's Brazil Contributing Editor.

Minas Gerais multi-billion dollar tech startup program begins

The Government of Minas Gerais will inject my 15 reais ($6 2 MI) in a program of acceleration of boot designed to retain talent and bring investment to the Brazilian State.

Startups and development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem (seed) program will provide up to 80,000 reais ($34,000) in free equity financing to 40 companies led by one person to three people each. Three rounds of the program are expected until late 2014.

Acceleration and tutoring program is six months and during that time, employers will be based in the capital of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, and be part of a cluster of technology dubbed "San Pedro Valley." To start with, the initiative is not directed to any specific segments.

"We are open to any idea of based on technology that is scalable and sustainable," said the executive director of the office of the State of Minas Gerais for strategic priorities, André Barrence.

Local and international companies are encouraged to apply for the program and the application process will begin in late September. The best ideas will be selected in October and the first intake of entrepreneurs will start in the program in December.

A consortium of the private sector has been chosen through a tendering process to deliver the starting acceleration initiative. This group of companies includes signature of coworking The Hub, which is where entrepreneurs will be based on the six months of the program.

As well as the investment of the Government, other partners support seed so that non- cash, including Google and Amazon, with resources such as storage in the cloud.

The Government of Minas also seeks to attract investors for the benefit of the ecosystem of start-up that is working to create.

"While we will accelerate startups, we want that investors who believe in these ideas also."Already have a group, although limited, of investors, Angels and so on, but we want to Minas Gerais have become a destination for any investor looking for digital companies, says Barrence.

"And after a program like ours, these companies will be had a"seal of approval"for type - of course, not all of them will be funded, but promoters will be much more comfortable in choosing their investments between the ideas that accelerate and mentor", points out.

A paradigm shift

A six-month period saw team Barrence maturing the idea for seed and establish a framework for the program. He says that there were limitations which had to overcome, such as the inability of the Government financially support people for the development of an idea business based on technology. A draft law was presented to these possible changes, which later became law.

"[The ability to finance people] is something that only the State of Minas Gerais; It is not necessary that the employer has a formalized company become part of the program. All what we want is the ideas and knowledge that will bring, "says Barrence.

As well as promoting the creation of a Centre for innovation excellence in Minas Gerais, seed is also intended to cope with a brain drain that has been affecting the State for decades.

"A big problem that concerns us very much is the fact that we have talented people with good educational background in Minas Gerais, but they end up leaving the State and elsewhere. And we want to preserve this human capital, "says Barrence.

"We want to make bringing in companies that will create attractive jobs for these young people. At the same time, we are going to create an environment where they will create their own jobs through the development of business ideas. "The ideal scenario is that people think 'would that I go Belo Horizonte if there are a lot of interesting jobs here?', adds.

The Government will take no action in the future companies, Barrence says that the measure of the program's success will be the creation of a new mentality when it comes to entrepreneurship and a flourishing scene of starter in Minas Gerais.

"We want mine to become the cradle of entrepreneurs of digital technology in Latin America and develop a tradition of breeding who turn great ideas into reality".