The National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) approved, from January to August of this year, R$5.9 billion for innovation projects in Brazilian industry, the highest value in the historical series that began in 1995, considering the first eight months of 2024. The volume exceeds the sum of approvals from 2019 to 2023 in the same period and represents more than double the value approved in 2011, the second largest year in the series, with R$2.9 billion.
Since January 2023, the bank’s credit approvals have already totaled R$11.2 billion for innovation projects, an amount higher than the sum of the previous five years.
According to BNDES president Aloízio Mercadante, in eight months, the amount invested by the bank already exceeds the entire year of 2023, which was R$5.3 billion in credit.
“The approvals were driven by the BNDES Mais Inovação Program, in response to President Lula’s determination to promote a technological transformation in the national industry to make it more competitive and capable of generating more qualified jobs in Brazil,” he explained.
According to him, since September 2023, when it began operating, until August of this year, the BNDES Mais Inovação Program approved R$8 billion for national companies.
According to the bank’s director of Productive Development, Innovation and Foreign Trade, José Luís Gordon, support for innovation for micro, small and medium-sized companies in 2024 is also the largest since 1995.
“The R$2.4 billion approved between January and August this year represents 41% of the total approved by the bank for innovation, demonstrating the relevance of the topic on the agenda of Brazilian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), which are the companies that generate the most jobs in the country,” he explained.
The amounts approved for medium-sized companies totaled R$1.4 billion, representing 56% of the total approved for MSMEs in 2024 and exceeding the sum of all approvals from 2015 to 2023, considering the same period. For micro-enterprises, R$200 million was approved and for small companies, R$900 million.
