Scaleup BAHIA Program
SEBRAE (Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service) is a private entity that promotes the competitiveness and sustainable development of micro and small businesses in Brazil. It works with a focus on strengthening entrepreneurship and accelerating the process of formalizing the economy through partnerships with the public and private sectors, training programs, access to credit and innovation, encouraging associations, business roundtables, etc.
SEBRAE’s chapter in the state of Bahia, through the Scaleup BAHIA Program, participated in the MIT VMS Immersion and Mentor Training programs in 2019. So far, two cohorts of the program have reached 41 ventures and engaged 29 volunteer mentors. As a result, those ventures have generated almost $ 6.5 million in business, 43% average gross revenue growth, 13% average growth in number of employees, and ventures indicated extremely high satisfaction with the program.
SEBRAE-BA’s leadership notes that “the participation of the SEBRAE BAHIA Team in the MIT VMS Immersion Program and the Scaleup BAHIA Mentors in the Mentors Training Program was essential for the program to reach the current results.”