Training & development for Rio slum entrepreneurs

Dear Favela Inc. Family,,

On behalf of Favela inc. and all of the local organizations and leaders that make up our community and network,  we would like to thank all of our past and new donors for believing in the work we are doing to support the low-income residents of the favela achieve their true potential.

In our last update, we shared with you that we were embarking on a process to review and improve our methodologies, partnerships, fundraising and capacity to generate scalable impact. We are proud to say that throughout the second and third quarter of 2021 we have been really busy with new plans, new employees and analyzing the results of our work throughout the past year. We have grown from just 3 employees to over 7 employees working full-time, along with a network of nearly 50 volunteers. Our responsibility to supporting the community of Vidigal and favelas throughout Rio is important now more than ever, and therefore we are fully committed to creating projects that create long-term, sustainable and systemic impact. 

In January of 2022, Favela Inc. will be launching a new and improved redesign of our brand, combined with a dynamic plan to guarantee the success of our initiatives. We are currently restructuring our marketing department and looking at how we can collaborate with content producers from the local communities to be a core part of our communication efforts. As for our Incubation program, it has always been at the core of our impact model and 2022 as we recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, will be an important moment to relaunch our new and improved incubation methodology and identity. 

Over the last few months we have been interviewing potential candidates to take on the role of incubation director guaranteeing the prioritization of this initiative. The incubation project began nearly two years ago and since then we have taken our initial 5 incubees (a mix of social projects and for profit startups) and transformed them into high quality organizations capable of building robust impact and revenue models that can bring sustainable long term impact to the Vidigal favela ecosystem. Since the inauguration of our incubator and throughout the pandemic we have continued to provide support to our original class of incubees, collaborating through partnership outreach and offering a robust entrepreneurial education. Many of our incubees also participated in the development of the local community collective we created called Vidigal Vive. We now have clarity with regards to the ideal way to develop high quality organizations and leaders in the favela and we are excited to share with you our new and improved model as well as some of the core financial partnerships we are developing in order to ensure responsible financing sources to our incubees post-incubation phase. 

Here is an update of some of the things we have been working on throughout 2021:

• A redesign of the space in our favela based innovation Hub, in order to offer current and future incubees a state of the art workspace and entrepreneurial community.
• Partnerships in development with Investe Favela to provide our for-profit incubees with the opportunity to receive equity based investment that can help their organizations grow and scale
• Working with our partner advertising agency Grupo Sal to develop educational content and brand development processes to integrate into our process.
• Partnership with MC law, specialist in the protection of intellectual property and the registration of trademarks in order to offer our incubees additional services that can serve the attainment of long term success.
• One of our original incubees, the vidigal based children's percussion school Batucavidi has launched a crowdfunding campaign to take a group of their best kids to France to collaborate with their sister organization BatucaVi. They need all the help they can to bring this dream to reality for these incredibly talented kids, most of which have never even travelled outside of the state of Rio de Janeiro. Check out their campaign here: https://www.vakinha.com.br/vaquinha/ajude-a-levar-o-batucavidi-para-franca-em-fevereiro-de-2022
• Join and participate actively in Re-inc, the main network of incubators and start-up ecosystem developers in the state of Rio de Janeiro

The Future of Our Incubation Program

We spent countless hours looking back at our results from the past while researching best practices from around the world in order to produce the next iteration of our incubator methodology. Check out the overview and schedule for our program in 2022:

Selection Pre-Incubation Phase (Jan-Feb)

To raise the profile of the incubation program, we hold a series of open workshops and microevents on issues relevant to many entrepreneurs in the favela, for example, how to maximize sales over the Carnival period. At the end of each event, we introduce the concept of the incubation program and encourage applicants to put themselves forward. 

We also publicise the opportunity through social media and community networks, and reach out directly to the many projects that we already know are interested in working with us.  We then hold a pitch competition at Favela Inc. with a jury composed from our team and our favela and city-level boards of advisors. This jury will rate the projects presented in terms of social impact, innovation, profitability or ability to attract funds, scalability, commitment and potential of the founder/team, and ability to benefit from incubation.

Once the final selection is made, we sit down with each incoming incubee to define what is expected from both sides for the incubation period, to avoid any asymmetries in expectations and establish a solid basis for ongoing attendance and cooperation. 

Mapping and Planning (March)

The mapping and planning stage allows us to understand the needs of the project, while immediately starting the process of connecting the project to external resources and opportunities. 

We start with the people closest to the project, and then move outwards through our networks, starting with the founder, and then our community advisors, then advisors from Rio and elsewhere in Brazil, and then international advisors. 

Favela Inc. gathers the ideas, information, and opportunities generated at each level, to plan a customized and comprehensive incubation program.

Incubee self-analysis

Favela Inc. guides the incubees through design thinking processes (possibly with the partnership of the Rio-based Escola Design Thinking) and exercises and materials for social enterprise design from the University of Pennsylvania. Through canvas exercises, SWOT analysis, and development of theories of impact, among other processes, and interviews conducted by the Favela Inc. team, both Favela Inc. and each incubee develop a better understanding of their projects’ vision, needs, challenges, and potential.

General Education Skill Building (April)

Favela Inc. holds classes and workshops conducted in a group setting to teach:

• Modes of thought that will lay the groundwork for successful incubation: learning how to learn, critical thinking, self-directed work and independent initiative.

• Basic skills that can be learned fast but have a big impact on productivity: tech tools such as google suite, professional communication (emails, etc.), using a planner, and research and benchmarking techniques.
• Entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial mindsets, and opportunities created by technology.
• Personal development: with external experts, we offer classes on emotional intelligence, consciousness expansion, and communication skills.
• We coach individual incubees on issues specific to each of them, whether that means working on a particular gap in their skills or helping them address circumstances in their life that are holding back their success.

Personalized Incubation (May–November)

We implement customized incubation plans developed through our Mapping and Planning process. 

• Favela Inc. holds weekly meetings with each founder to check in on their progress, define goals for the next week, discuss any challenges, help implement their learning from stage 2, and jointly develop the strategy for their project going forward. 
• Our boards of advisors will have had time since February/March to make plans or reach out to their networks to solidify the help or connections they can offer our incubees. These are followed up on, and ideally each incubee will be adopted as a mentee by a board member, depending on fit.
• Customized education will be provided in collaboration with our vast networks of partners and mentors in the areas of Legal and financial education, content and brand development, team management skills, fundraising and much more.

We are looking forward to bringing in a new class of around 5-10 incubees in 2022 and we hope you continue to support us and follow along throughout the journey. 

If you have interest in learning more about our incubation program or would like to inquire about becoming a sponsor, partner or mentor please do not hesitate to reach out to our president Adam Newman at Adam@favelainc.com 

As you can see we have lofty goals and plans for the future of our organization and our incubator program and that is why we have chosen to take the remaining months of 2021 to consolidate results, analyze what we've done thus far and upgrade our capacity to continue supporting favela communities… collectively!

Thank you so much for being a part of our journey and we look forward to you following along with us as we continue to understand how the development of incubation programs in favela communities can effectively and efficiently diminish socio-economic inequality.

Stay safe and healthy!

Favela Inc.

Links:

• Follow us on Instagram
• Support the Batucavidi Campaign
• Check Out Our Past Incubees