BNDES and partners announce call for proposals that will inject R$ 10 billion into the Northeast economy.

247 - At a meeting held this Tuesday (8), the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), together with institutions such as Finep, Banco do Nordeste (BNB), Banco do Brasil and Caixa Econômica Federal, announced, under the leadership of Sudene and the Northeast Consortium, the “Northeast Call”, a R$ 10 billion initiative aimed at strengthening the regional economy. The announcement was made during a meeting with the government of Bahia. The action, launched in May by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), aims to promote investments in infrastructure, public services and production chains, in line with the guidelines of the Nova Indústria Brasil program.

BNDES director Maria Fernanda Coelho, responsible for Digital Credit for SMEs and Management of the Rio Doce Fund, highlighted Bahia's potential to lead projects with a large impact. "The recovery of our capacity to dream and think long-term is a great legacy of these just over two years of President Lula's third term," she stated.

According to her, the current industrial landscape of the country still shows a strong concentration in the South and Southeast regions, responsible for 81% of Brazil's industrial GDP. "Of the 274 industrial microregions in Brazil, 49 are in the Northeast. So we see a great opportunity to identify these growth hubs, which can act as vectors to increase our participation," the director noted.

Rodrigo Aguiar, Northeast Relationship Manager at BNDES, emphasized that the Northeast Call represents a concrete action to decentralize and regionalize the New Industry Brazil program. “BNDES supports this initiative with the goal of sophisticating the Northeast's industrial sector, generating qualified jobs, innovation, and increased income,” he stated. He added: “We are committed to transforming good ideas into structuring projects that drive the sustainable development of the region.”

Rodrigo Cunha, manager of the Productive Development and Innovation Area at BNDES, explained that the themes were defined by Sudene based on regional vocations, through the Regional Committee of Federal Financial Institutions (Coriff). The five main axes are: renewable energy, focusing on storage solutions; bioeconomy, geared towards sustainable pharmaceuticals; decarbonization through green hydrogen; green data centers, powered by renewable sources; and the automotive industry, with emphasis on agricultural machinery.

"The call for proposals is aimed at companies and cooperatives, with a minimum value of R$ 10 million per proposal," he explained. The deadline for submitting projects is September 15th, with analysis scheduled until November 28th.

The classification criteria include the robustness of the business plan, the applicant's technical and financial capacity, adherence to the objectives of the National Council for Industrial Development (CNDI), and partnerships with research institutions or universities.

Representing the government of Bahia were secretaries Afonso Florence (Civil House), Manoel Vitório (Finance) and Cláudio Peixoto (Planning), as well as the president of Bahiainvest, Paulo Guimarães, and technicians from CBPM (Bahia Mineral Research Company) and the Secretariat of Economic Development (SDE).