Program was unveiled at Cubo Itaú, one of Brazil’s foremost innovation and entrepreneurship hubs
On March 13, at Cubo Itaú in São Paulo, with the aim of combining social transformation and economic growth, Fundo Vale brought together more than 50 representatives of startups interested in developing positive impact actions. During the event, called “Cubo Itaú Impact – Tracing Paths between Profit and Purpose,” a team of experts and investors presented strategies for entrepreneurs to transform the way they do business and increase the likelihood of attracting investments.
During the meeting, the Cubo Itaú Impact Journey was launched. This is an initiative led by Fundo Vale in partnership with Ago Social, to promote discussions and actions regarding social and environmental impact businesses within Cubo Itaú, an entrepreneurship hub in São Paulo. In all, there are 30 slots in the program for startups to apply for. The journey will consist of three stages: 20 hours of training; collective and individual mentoring; and a closing event called the Cubo Itaú Impact Summit, at which prizes will be awarded to the three startups that have made the most progress in the social and environmental impact pillar.
“We are very happy with this project, which is another one of those that we are passionate about at Fundo Vale, to idealize solutions based on a very concrete intention of impact and to translate this into projects and actions. But this will only make sense if everyone here gets involved,” said Gustavo Luz, Fundo Vale’s director, during the event’s opening session, which also featured representatives of the Amazon Journey’s other partners: Jana Maria Silva, an ESG specialist at Cubo Itaú; Talita Duprat, project manager at Ago Social; Geisiane Silva of Eninpacto; and Marco Gorini, co-founder and CEO of Din4mo.
During the event, the participants were invited to take part in a group Q&A session and discuss “whether it is possible to make money and mitigate social problems at the same time.” This was followed by a panel discussion called “Investing with purpose: What elevates a startup onto the radar screen of impact investors?” YouGreen CEO Roger Koeppl and Din4mo CEO Marco Gorini debated this topic, moderated by Cubo Itaú’s Jana Silva.
“When we do our homework and we have a good story and a pipeline of interesting business propositions, there’s a much higher probability of having conversations with investors. It’s also a chance to learn, because if you’ve done this analysis, you can get feedback on your business and adjust your pitch and your narrative, so you can come back in a more assertive way,” Gorini explained during the panel.
