BNDES Garagem program offers a mentoring program for startups

The National Economic and Social Development Bank (BNDES) started the mentoring project for the startups of the acceleration module of BNDES Garagem program. At the first meeting, organized by the Wayra/Liga Ventures consortium at Wework Carioca in Rio de Janeiro, the startups were mentored by professionals from the development bank.

The BNDES’ employees are divided into two categories: godparents, who accompany the companies throughout the program, and specialists, who provide advice on matters such as finance, communication, and IT. In addition to supporting startups and promoting their connection with the business ecosystem, the mentoring aims to bring the Bank closer to the innovation culture of new companies.

In this first meeting, the 30 startups that are part of the acceleration module of the program presented themselves, met their mentors and got into a first working meeting. The main expectations of the companies with the mentorship go through subjects like structuring of business plans and attracting investments, as well as connecting with possible clients.

The generation of new business is one of the main expected results of this exchange. Karla Bertocco, BNDES director of Governments and Infrastructure and mentor of Destine Já, said: “I see a lot of synergy between the startups’ proposals and the needs of the public sector, such as in healthcare, for example. On the other hand, we can present the real experience of the sectors. I believe that this exchange will be very fertile.”