Youth Complete a New Stage of the Entrepreneurship Incentive Program

Youth Complete a New Stage of the Entrepreneurship Incentive Program
Young people participate in the project meeting - Photo: IJUS
E​n​trepreneurship incentive program focuses on forest conservation and the responsible use of resources

August, 2023 – The Juruti UP project aims to encourage and promote sustainable entrepreneurship in the Amazon. It has over 450 young people on its roster and provides training on sustainable entrepreneurship with a focus on forest conservation and the responsible use of forest resources. 

During the first stage, the program held five Awakening Workshops, involving young people from the municipality of Juruti and from hub communities in the Curumucuri, Juruti Velho, Prudente, and Monte Sinai regions. The goal was to offer participants an opportunity to gain knowledge and obtain social, environmental and economic benefits.

Juruti UP is led by the Amazon Entrepreneurship Center (CEA). The initiative is part of the INGÁ Project (a Portuguese acronym for Sustainability and Management Indicators in the Amazon). It is coordinated by the Sustainable Juruti Institute (IJUS) in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Partnership Platform for the Amazon (PPA), the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, and private sector institutions.

Course activities totaled more than 40 hours between May and June, and all sessions took place on weekends. The goal was to understand participants' current knowledge, present tools and business opportunities the region might provide sustainably, and encourage an entrepreneurial spirit. 

“It is a joy for me to have taken part in this second edition of Juruti UP! The workshop added value and made it possible to broaden our vision of entrepreneurship here in Juruti”, evaluates participant Edicleia Batista.

For Lucas Walfredo, another participant, attending the workshops was an enriching experience. “Being able to share my ideas and check if they are viable, putting everything down on paper, and planning your work makes the process more dynamic. So we end up trusting more that it can actually work. Together, we can shape our project. We know that it is possible, and the encouragement we received from our monitors increased our enthusiasm,” he points out.

According to Luiz Fadel, Juruti UP's coordinator at CEA, the workshops were fruitful. “We were able to develop sustainable business ideas, which will certainly become successful companies and provide immeasurable returns for Juruti and the region. We have completed this stage with a strong feeling of gratitude for the warm welcome we received from the municipality,” he explains.

The next stage will start with new registrations for the pre-acceleration program. During this stage, participants will receive training on the development of business models, focusing on building strategic partnerships and prototyping services and products.