The agreement was signed during a visit to the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona.

The Espírito Santo Research and Innovation Support Foundation (Fapes) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Corporation for Smart and Sustainable Territories (CTIS), a Colombian organization focused on building strong and equitable communities through technology and collaboration to create sustainable regions. The agreement was formalized during the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona, as part of the international mission Brazilian Impact Techs in Spain (BitS 2025), which is part of the Brazilian Startups Worldwide (BSW) Program, conceived by Fapes in partnership with the Capixaba Innovation Mobilization (MCI) and FindesLab.

Fapes Innovation Director Elton Moura attended the meeting and explained the scope of the collaboration agreed upon with the Colombian organization.

“We had the opportunity to establish a connection between the Government of the State of Espírito Santo and Colombia. In our discussions, we agreed to pursue a partnership through our Fapes Global program, taking startups from Espírito Santo to Colombia and providing them with financial support to establish and expand their businesses there. Likewise, Colombian startups will be encouraged to come to Brazil—specifically to Espírito Santo. That is our focus,” he said.

“But the partnership is not limited to innovation alone; we also aim to collaborate in the field of research. The idea is to strengthen partnerships among our public and private institutions in Espírito Santo, including universities, the Federal Institute, and even secondary schools, by promoting exchanges of students, teachers, and researchers in both directions. This is our interest, although further discussions are still needed,” he added.

Fapes’ initiative follows a strategic path to expand partnership opportunities across South America. Recently, the Foundation established research partnerships with Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay through the Pilar Network. Moura also revealed that a mission to Argentina will take place soon.

“We will carry out BRETA – Brazilian Retail Techs in Argentina. We will take startups from Espírito Santo and other parts of Brazil to Argentina to establish businesses there and, in the future, possibly enable Argentine startups to set up operations in Espírito Santo as well,” he emphasized.

How Does the BSW Program Work?

The Brazilian Startups Worldwide (BSW) Program supports startups in achieving international success across four strategic verticals:

• Industry (IndTechs);

• Commerce and Retail (RetailTechs);

• Agribusiness (AgriFoodTechs);

• Impact Businesses (ImpactTechs).

Each mission takes place in a different country with an active innovation and technology ecosystem aligned with the selected vertical. “We are studying future destinations according to the focus of each mission, always following the same model: participation in a major industry event, training activities, networking, mentoring, connections with the local market, and cultural immersion,” explained Elton Moura.

The Fapes Innovation Director also highlighted that all missions receive support from Brazilian embassies: “In every mission, we are accompanied by representatives of the Brazilian Embassy. It is important to emphasize that the BSW Program is directly linked to the Innovation Diplomacy Program (PDI) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, whose objective is to promote Brazil’s image as an innovative nation,” he concluded.

Press Information

Fapes Communications Office
Samantha Nepomuceno | Igor Gonçalves
+55 (27) 3636-1867 | +55 (27) 3636-1858
comunicacao@fapes.es.gov.br