This initiative, implemented by ACE Ventures, seeks to strengthen the regional ecosystem and expand access to capital for startups in Northeast Brazil, decentralizing venture capital in the country.
The Brazilian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (ABVCAP) and the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil), through a technical-financial agreement, launched Inova+Invest, a program designed to activate and strengthen the innovation ecosystem in the Northeast and North regions, connecting startups, companies, and investors to generate business and expand the flow of investments.
In this first edition, which will cover the Northeast region, ACE Ventures, a comprehensive platform supporting innovative entrepreneurship in Brazil, will act as the accelerator responsible for all stages of the program's journey. Applications are open until February 2nd. from the site.
The program seeks technology companies with scalable solutions, with an active CNPJ (Brazilian tax ID) and headquarters or main office in the Northeast region of Brazil. Businesses from all sectors will be accepted, as long as they qualify as startups: companies that develop technology, business models, or solutions with a high degree of innovation, whether in products, services, or processes. Applicants must also have a minimum annual revenue of R$$ 500,000 and be interested in raising investment in the form of equity participation.
The registered startups will undergo an initial analysis, with the list of pre-approved companies being released on February 9th. These companies will then proceed to a virtual selection panel, which will take place between February 23rd and 27th, where venture capital and innovation experts will evaluate scalability potential, innovation and technology, business maturity, and team quality. Up to 15 startups will be selected and announced by March 6th, 2026.
From there, an intensive development path designed by ACE Ventures begins. During the month of March, startups participate in online training and individual mentoring focused on preparing for funding rounds, structuring their thesis, metrics, and fundraising narrative. In April, the in-person module takes place, bringing together entrepreneurs, mentors, large companies, and investors. The month also marks Demo Day, when startups present their businesses to a qualified panel and begin investment rounds. After this stage, all startups proceed to a post-program monitoring and support cycle, which extends until April 2027, ensuring strategic support in the progress of fundraising and business growth.
According to Priscila Rodrigues, president of ABVCAP, the program will be fundamental in contributing to the development of the innovation ecosystem in the Northeast. “By concentrating efforts on the first edition in the region, we will be able to expand access to capital and structure opportunities that connect investors to quality projects, strengthening the potential for generating local business and investment,” says Rodrigues. “The region has both good solutions that can receive investment, and investors seeking diversification of their portfolios who are willing to better understand alternative investments; therefore, our role will be to identify these two audiences.”.
Inspired by the methodology and results of the Venture Forum, a program promoted by the Association in partnership with the Brazilian Agency for Industrial Development (ABDI) and ApexBrasil, which between 2012 and 2016 supported companies throughout the country, with 18 of them raising investments totaling R$119 million, Inova+Invest adopts a similar structure. As differentiating factors, the program has an initial geographic focus on the North and Northeast regions and incorporates, as a new strategic objective, the training of new private capital investors, contributing to the expansion of the volume of investments in the country.
“The rapid expansion of innovation and entrepreneurship in the North and Northeast regions has attracted the attention of ApexBrasil. Since 2023, the Agency has been developing export promotion programs to support more companies and, recently, has expanded its activities to foster investments and strengthen regional venture capital ecosystems. Its role includes connecting national investors to opportunities in these regions, stimulating new local investors and, in the future, bringing more mature companies closer to international VCs and CVCs,” points out Helena Brandão, Investment Manager at ApexBrasil.
“The Northeast region concentrates talent and innovative companies that often remain off the radar of major investment centers. Inova+Invest Nordeste helps to change this logic, bringing qualified capital closer to the region and preparing startups to raise capital efficiently. We are very honored to lead this initiative alongside ABVCAP and ApexBrasil,” says Pedro Waengertner, CEO of ACE Ventures.
Focus on the Northeast
The Northeast region of Brazil offers a solid foundation of opportunities for the growth of innovative companies. According to IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics), in 2022 the region generated R$1.39 trillion in GDP, representing 13.81% of the Brazilian economy. This economic dynamism is also reflected in the innovation environment: according to... Sebrae Startups Report Northeast 2025, The Northeast region already has 4,661 startups, concentrating almost a third of the country's startups, but still has low access to venture capital, which limits the scalability of local businesses.
The report indicates that most startups in the Northeast region are in early or traction stages, a critical phase for product validation, customer acquisition, and preparation for fundraising: precisely the focus of the program. Among the mapped companies, 29.6% are already in traction, while the predominant business models are B2B (52.2%) and B2B2C (22.9%). Furthermore, 41.7% are micro-enterprises, reinforcing the emerging and developing nature of the ecosystem.
In terms of revenue, most operate with still limited incomes: 29,66% have annual revenues between R$81,000 and R$360,000, 12,69% have revenues between R$360,000 and R$4.8 million, while only 0.99% have already exceeded the R$4.8 million mark, reaching R$300 million. The data highlight the need for programs that offer training, mentoring, and access to investors—central elements of Inova+Invest Nordeste.
From a sectoral perspective, there is diversity, but with a strong presence of areas that reflect national trends in digital transformation. The most representative segments among startups in the Northeast are Information Technology (13,82%), Health and Wellness (13,56%), and Education (11,99%), all considered strategic for attracting capital and generating social and economic impact.
Service
Inova+Invest Northeast
Registration: January 12 to February 2, 2026
Site: https://abvcap.com.br/programas/inova-invest/
About ACE Ventures
ACE Ventures is a comprehensive platform supporting innovative entrepreneurship in Brazil. Founded in 2012, it has already made over 150 investments, 32 exits, and impacted more than 4,000 entrepreneurs. Combining capital, knowledge, and connections, the holding company operates in complementary areas: ACE Ventures (investments in technology at the pre-seed and seed stages), ACE Cortex (corporate innovation, generating over R$4 billion in new revenue and efficiencies), Future Dojo (corporate education for innovation), and ACE Advisors (M&A boutique). In 2023, it launched the ACE Summit, an annual event that brings together the main players in the ecosystem to boost connections, business, and market transformation.
About ABVCAP
The Brazilian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (ABVCAP) is a non-profit organization active since 2000, aimed at developing long-term investment activity in the country. It represents national and international institutions active in the Brazilian alternative asset industry, including the markets for private equity, venture and seed capital, private credit, infrastructure, real estate, natural resources, and special situations, among others. As a representative entity of the private capital industry, ABVCAP defends the interests of industry members with public and private institutions, both national and international, seeking increasingly favorable public policies to promote these investments in the country, for the benefit of its members and the real economy as a whole.
About ApexBrasil:
The Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil) works to promote Brazilian products and services abroad and attract foreign investment to strategic sectors of the Brazilian economy. To achieve these objectives, ApexBrasil carries out diverse trade promotion activities aimed at promoting exports and enhancing the value of Brazilian products and services abroad, such as prospecting and trade missions, business roundtables, support for the participation of Brazilian companies in major international trade fairs, visits by foreign buyers and opinion leaders to learn about the Brazilian production structure, among other business platforms that also aim to strengthen the Brazil brand.
The Agency also works in a coordinated manner with public and private actors to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) to Brazil, focusing on sectors that are strategic for developing the competitiveness of Brazilian companies and the country as a whole.
