Program aims to involve professionals from various areas of Vale in business strategies aimed at sustainable development in Amazon region   

Fundo Vale’s innovation area has launched Impact Mentors, an initiative to give employees from different areas of Vale the opportunity to act as mentors for social and environmental impact businesses in the Amazon. This action is part of Vale’s support for the Amazon Journey, an impact business acceleration program run by Fundo Vale in partnership with the CERTI Foundation. 

This training, to be held between June 24 and July 12, offers online and recorded content designed to prepare employees to become effective mentors. In this stage, the participants will learn about different types of mentoring, methods of preparation and action, and the specific challenges faced by impact businesses in the Amazon. 

The practical phase will take place from July 15 to September 27. During this period, the mentors will have the opportunity to apply the knowledge they have acquired, actively participating in the creation of strategies and action plans to help sustainable businesses achieve their goals. This stage is essential so that the mentors can have a real mentoring experience and contribute directly to sustainable development in the Amazon. 

The mentors will be organized into trios, formed according to the specific needs and challenges of each mentored business. During the practice phase, the mentors will have at least six meetings with the startups to get to know their specific characteristics and contribute to strategies and action plans to achieve the desired results. In addition, the mentors will monitor the execution of the activities and help adjust the strategies as necessary, ensuring that the entrepreneurs are on the right track to achieve their goals.  

Selection process 

Employees from various areas of Vale were invited to sign up for the program using a form, where they provided basic information such as their name, race, gender, position and area of activity in the company. They also indicated the main areas in which they feel prepared to offer mentoring. 

“The selection process was based on two criteria: ensuring the diversity of the group and aligning the mentors’ specialties with the specific challenges of the participating businesses. We’re excited about this journey. It will be a very rich experience for the selected employees and very valuable for the startups that will receive our support,” says Rodrigo Araújo of Fundo Vale’s innovation area.