Empowering Brazil's Small Entrepreneurs: New School and Credit Fund Support Growth and Inclusion
Brazil's new entrepreneurship school and the Fundo Estímulo credit fund enhance support for small businesses, boosting economic inclusion and job creation.
- • The Escola de Negócios e Desenvolvimento Social (Enedes) was inaugurated in Brasília with a R$ 12.9 million investment to train over 10,000 entrepreneurs annually.
- • The school includes advanced labs, coworking spaces, and mobile training units to support entrepreneurs in peripheral communities.
- • The Fundo Estímulo has supported more than 4,000 small entrepreneurs, mostly in low-income areas, impacting over 50,000 jobs.
- • Small businesses provide 70% of formal employment in Brazil and are critical for poverty alleviation and food security.
Key details
Brazil is intensifying efforts to support its small entrepreneurs through impactful initiatives aimed at training, credit access, and economic inclusion. On December 4, 2025, the Escola de Negócios e Desenvolvimento Social (Enedes) was inaugurated in Brasília, aiming to train over 10,000 micro, small, and medium entrepreneurs annually. The school, a partnership between the Instituto Federal de Brasília (IFB) and the Agência Brasileira de Desenvolvimento Industrial (ABDI), was established with an investment of R$ 12.9 million in a 1,000 m² facility. Enedes offers courses covering the creative economy, digital transformation, finance, marketing, solidarity economy, and business management. It features advanced laboratories, including consumer behavior analysis through neuroscientific methods, a Retail and Visual Merchandising Laboratory, and a professional digital content studio. To further bolster entrepreneurship, Enedes hosts the Coworking IFB Mais Empreendedor supporting new business development for program graduates. Additionally, its Rota Empreendedora initiative deploys a mobile school bus to bring training directly to peripheral communities.
Complementing educational efforts, the Fundo Estímulo, Brazil's largest impact fund, has supported over 4,000 small entrepreneurs since its creation during the pandemic. More than 90% of beneficiaries are in low-income communities, with 36% receiving credit for the first time. This fund has positively impacted over 50,000 jobs and underscores the crucial role of small businesses that generate 70% of Brazil's formal employment. The fund emphasizes empowering small entrepreneurs, especially women, as a key to dignity, food security, and breaking cycles of poverty.
Together, these initiatives represent a strategic investment in the future of Brazil’s economy and society by fostering entrepreneurship as a vehicle for inclusivity, resilience, and opportunity. As highlighted by several leaders, including Ricardo Cappelli, president of ABDI, and the author serving on the Fundo Estímulo council, supporting small businesses requires coordinated public policies, investment in education, social protection networks, and active civil society participation to build a just and inclusive Brazil.
This article was translated and synthesized from Brazilian sources, providing English-speaking readers with local perspectives.
