Being part of Global Entrepreneurship Monitor enables countries to benchmark their data with other economies. GEM Brazil set out to learn quite intentionally from peers during a seminar that took place on 30 August 2023, organised by SEBRAE and ANEGEPE.
GEM research has underscored four concerning areas in Brazil’s entrepreneurial ecosystem: education, bureaucracy, financial support, and environment for innovation. The seminar featured four panels, each one addressing one of the areas of concern. Four GEM countries with strong performances in these conditions were invited to speak:
• Ehud Menipaz shared perspectives on how education can help entrepreneurship to flourish in Israel.
• Natalia Gorynia-Pfeffer and Armin Baharian from GEM Germany talked about innovation.
• Sunil Shukla discussed how to address bureaucracy in India.
• Ernesto Amorós highlighted the financial support provided to entrepreneurs in Mexico.
Among the key learnings were:
- For the innovation session with Germany, the 15 new IT centers created to accelerate and support SMEs in the digitalization process stood out. They are strategically distributed throughout Germany in an effort to decentralize and democratize investments.
- The panel on bureaucracy with India highlighted the federal government's recent initiatives to provide diverse support for entrepreneurs quickly, reliably and accessibily.
- The panel with Israel underscored how the education system integrates the entrepreneurship ecosystem and is designed to provide opportunities for experimentation and cooperation, mainly through initiatives such as Junior Achievement Israel (for primary, junior high and school and high students), a National Hackathon (especially geared to female and minority students of engineering and science), an Academic Internship Elective (STEP) of 120 hours in industries and the Academic Coupon ® , which allows qualified students to get education in the fields of engineering for 10 years.
- In the panel on credit and financing for entrepreneurship, Professor Amorós highlighted that this condition in Mexico has similar contours to the Brazilian reality, as demonstrated by the GEM 2022 results. He highlighted the relevant role played by informal investors in strengthening entrepreneurship among those without significant access to capital. Mr. Fabio Maschio, director of the Brazilian Association of Microcredit Operators, pointed out the transformative role of this type of financing as the economic situation of many entrepreneurs does not allow them to access resources from traditional financial entities. Small amounts of financial resources can create a dramatically different reality for these entrepreneurs.
Each panel was moderated by a member of the GEM Brazil team: Rose Lopes, Anegepe Vice President and manager of GEM Anegepe issues; Edmundo Inacio, Anegepe Technical Director; Simara Greco, the GEM Brazil Team Leader; and Paulo Bastos, GEM Team Analyst. The panels also featured a Brazilian expert.
Sebrae manager Andre Spinola, GEM Executive Director Aileen Ionescu-Somers and ANEGEPE President all delivered opening remarks. The general coordinator of the event was Marco Aurélio Bedê, Analyst in the Unit of Intelligence and Strategical Management in Sebrae. The event was a success, as can be seen in the seminar participation numbers noted below.
Additional information about the event can be found here.