A trip to China may last weeks, but its effects have the potential to transform businesses for years to come. For a group of Brazilian Afro-entrepreneurs, visiting universities, smart factories and innovation centers in Ningbo expanded much more than their knowledge about artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced manufacturing.
Promoted by Sebrae, the experience of the 29 entrepreneurs strengthened networks, accelerated projects and showed that solutions created in the Amazon, in Brazilian outskirts and in different Brazilian territories can compete for space in the global market.
The group that traveled to China was made up of founders of startups selected among the highlights of the Sebrae Startup Award 2025. The initiative is part of the Caminhos do Sul Global Program, developed in partnership with the Ministry of Racial Equality. Sebrae worked in the selection, communication and monitoring of participants, creating conditions for entrepreneurs to have access to training in AI, intelligent manufacturing, design, industrial management and applied innovation.
Noanny Maia is the founder of Cacauaré | Photo: Disclosure
Among the participants in the immersion, held in May this year, is Noanny Guimarães Maia, born in Mocajuba, in the interior of Pará, and founder of Cacauaré. The startup transforms native lowland cocoa into products, experiences and solutions with greater added value, connecting traditional knowledge, science, culture and forest conservation. The company was born from the perception that Amazonian communities remained concentrated in the least valued stage of the production chain, while most of the wealth generated by cocoa remained outside the territory.
In China, Noanny realized that the Amazon can also be recognized as a producer of knowledge and technologyand not just as a supplier of raw materials. The lessons learned are already guiding projects to improve production control, cocoa traceability, inventory management and demand forecasting.
The entrepreneur also intends to use AI tools in the development of packaging, images and narratives capable of presenting Amazonian culture in a contemporary way, without losing the territory’s identity. “I didn’t come back from the mission wanting to transform the Amazon into a copy of China. I came back wanting to offer the Amazon new tools so that it can build its own future”, he states.
Marcelo Arruda is the founder of the Diversidade.io platform | Photo: Disclosure
The transformation also appears in the trajectory of Marcelo Arruda, resident of São Paulo and founder of Diversidade.io, a platform that connects black entrepreneurs and diverse suppliers to the purchasing chains of large companies. Created from the perception that thousands of businesses with quality products and services remained invisible to the corporate market, the startup brings together business generation solutions, mapping black entrepreneurship, social impact analysis and information validation.
After international immersion, Marcelo reorganized priorities and accelerated the development of tools based on AI and data analysis. One of them is Black Maps, a platform created to map black businesses and recommend customers, suppliers and partners compatible with the profile of each business.
The mission also brought Diversidade.io closer to the Federal Institute of Goiás (IFG), where the company began to be incubated to integrate academic research, technological development and practical application. “The mission didn’t just produce inspiration. It helped to reorganize priorities, accelerate projects and strengthen the vision that our platforms need to act in a more integrated, intelligent and scalable way”, he highlights.
Global innovation and technology spaces
For the deputy manager of the Female Entrepreneurship, Diversity and Inclusion Unit (UEDI) at Sebrae Nacional, Eraldo Ricardo dos Santos, expanding access for black entrepreneurs to the world’s main innovation ecosystems means investing in the construction of new markets, connections and opportunities for high-impact businesses.
Our objective is to create conditions for these entrepreneurs to occupy global innovation and technology spaces, increase their competitiveness and return to Brazil prepared to transform knowledge into solutions that generate economic development and social.
Eraldo Ricardo dos Santos, deputy manager of UEDI at Sebrae Nacional
According to the manager, the coexistence between the participants strengthened a network of founders who share similar challenges and begin to build new partnerships, while the rapprochement with universities, research centers, governments and companies expands the potential for internationalization and accelerates the growth of startups led by black people.
Noanny summarizes this potential by arguing that businesses led by black people should be recognized as a force for innovation in the country. “Our origins do not determine the limits of our dreams”, he states. For Marcelo, the advancement of this ecosystem depends on intentional opportunities to access capital, technology, large customers and international markets. “Black entrepreneurs should not just follow the future. We need to actively participate in its construction”, he reinforces.
Support from Sebrae
Entrepreneurs can count on Sebrae’s support on various topics to improve management and strengthen the company. Check it out:
- Afroentrepreneurship: Portal Sebrae launched, at the beginning of July, a special page on the topic, bringing together, in a single environment, content, training and solutions aimed at strengthening businesses led by black people.
- Sebrae Startups: platform that brings together all Sebrae initiatives for startups throughout Brazil, with the aim of fostering innovative entrepreneurship and supporting the development of startups in all their maturity phases.
- ESG Platform: platform on environmental, social and governance practices aimed at all individual microentrepreneurs, microenterprises and small businesses.
Search for other topics of interest on the Sebrae Portal.
Source: www.agenciasebrae.com.br
