07/22/2023 – 18:28
The government of Espírito Santo is trying to make the state a hub for technology and companies concerned with the ESG agenda. For this, half of the money obtained by sharing royalties from oil and natural gas extracted from Espírito Santo soil has been allocated by the government, via the state development bank, in investment for the creation and acceleration of startups. The State also encourages the attraction of companies with a strong policy linked to sustainability.
Part of the R$1.2 billion sovereign fund is used for the development agenda. Half of the total amount is earmarked for savings for the population and the other half is made available for two programs coordinated by the National Development Bank of ES (Bandes).
A year ago, the equity investment fund was created from BRL 250 million from the state Sovereign Fund, FIP Funses 1. Managed by TM3 Capital, in partnership with Bandes and the accelerator Ace, the investment fund invests resources in technology startups. The idea is to attract interested parties from other parts of the country to the State to create a technological hub.
“Espírito Santo, over the last 10, 12 years, has carried out very responsible fiscal management, which means that the State has enough savings to create a fund from these resources. And it was innovative, because it understands that it is important to use the resource for development”, says the president of Bandes, Marcelo Saintive.
“The idea is to get technology startups to foster this ecosystem, give it speed, so that capixaba society can take ownership of an innovation ecosystem, which benefits the entire economy. It is the only State that has a sovereign wealth fund and makes it dedicated to innovation”, he says.
Startups can go through a structuring process or, if they are already in operation and mature, they receive resources from the State, through the investment fund. One of the 17 startups that received funds is the capixaba Aevo, an innovation management platform for companies. In this first year, R$ 33 million were released for investment.
“In five years we think we will have 50 companies with direct investment from the sovereign fund, understanding that there is a return to society in innovation, increased income, which we believe will be positive”, he says.
It is the largest venture capital fund with a single shareholder in the country. In addition to investments in companies, the expectation is to help with the digital acceleration of up to 500 startups over the next ten years.
In July, the State set up another arm of the development program with resources from the Sovereign Fund. R$ 250 million will be allocated for issuing debentures to companies that pay special attention to ESG practices and want to operate in the State.
In this case, the State sought projects that require a minimum investment of R$ 20 to R$ 50 million and proposed to finance up to 80% of the necessary amount. The call for companies to enroll in the program ended a week ago and 22 companies showed interest.
“The government understands that in this discussion of sustainable development it is necessary to have a dynamic, perennial innovation system. And it also decides to allocate to companies that are in the state or that want to set up business here”, says the president of Bandes.
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