“We have a very rich and beneficial ecosystem and we want each team to leave this competition wanting to embark on this journey, whether at the Unicamp Incubator or any other, to bring scientific and technological knowledge to the population.” With this sentence, the associate director of the Inova Unicamp Innovation Agency, Renato Lopes, summarized the work of the six finalists who participated this Thursday afternoon (29) in the Unicamp 2023 Desafio awards ceremony, a competition organized by Inova.
The event, broadcast live via Inova Unicamp's Zoom, concluded the 13th edition of Unicamp's business modeling competition. In the two main categories of the Unicamp Challenge, according to the examination board's assessment, the same team was awarded. At the ceremony, the winning team in the public's choice (Popular Vote category) was also announced.
Brazilian flora solution for chronic wounds
In the general classification of the Unicamp 2023 Challenge, the winner was the NanoUnique team, formed by five students from the Biological Sciences area of Universidade Tiradentes (Unit) and the Federal University of Sergipe (UFS).
The team modeled a B2B business (aimed at other companies) in the biomedical and dental sector, focused on the treatment of chronic wounds. The proposed solution, ChiCare, is based on a technology developed at Unicamp with bioactives from plant extracts from Brazilian flora and aimed at producing a biodegradable membrane with regenerative action.
The team prioritized environmental sustainability by promoting responsible agricultural practices with the rational use of natural resources and adequate waste management, with the potential to promote the circular economy. NanoUnique also achieved the highest score in the Socio-Environmental Impact category. The representative of the winning group attributed the success of the project to colleagues and mentors.
“We are honored and very happy, firstly, with the opportunity given to us and, secondly, with this double award. Taking a Unicamp technology and transforming it into a viable business was, over the last three months, a very big challenge that provided us with a wonderful experience”, said Pedro Ellison Santos do Nascimento, representative of the NanoUnique team.
The final of the Unicamp Challenge was moderated by Inova's communications supervisor, Kátia Kishi, and with the lecture “Partnership between Startup and ICT: technological acceleration reducing the risk for the business”, by Vinícius Pagano, new business executive at the Institute Eldorado, one of the sponsors of the competition.
This was the fourth edition of the competition in a completely online format since its creation in 2011. During the final of the Unicamp 2023 Challenge, a video by Murilo Marques, co-founder of FM2S, another company sponsoring the event, was also shown. Marques was part of the winning team in the first edition of the competition and reinforced, in the video shown, its importance in his career as an entrepreneur.
Photo with the finalist teams, sponsors and Inova Unicamp team.
Watch the full video of the Unicamp Challenge final.
Evaluation panel
The presentations made by the six finalist teams were divided into three blocks. Each group had up to six minutes to present their business model and another four minutes to answer the panel's questions. The winners were chosen by a jury made up of representatives of companies and institutions that are partners of the Unicamp 2023 Challenge:
- Elisa Pereira, co-founder of UniAngels, the Unicamp Alumni Angel Network;
- Isabela Pascoal Becker, Director of Sustainability at Fundação Educar and Daterra Coffee;
- Matheus Pierre, director of Software and Innovation Solutions at Instituto Eldorado;
- Oswaldo Fernandes, co-founder of Baita Aceleradora;
- Paula Louzada, head marketing department at FM2S Consultoria e Educação.
Audience choice
Voting in the Popular Vote category was carried out live among people connected via Zoom, at the end of the presentation of the pitches. The VitaNanoBio team, made up of five women from the Biological Sciences area also from Unit and UFS, won with 29% of the votes, in a fierce dispute.
Excited, the group's representative, Erica Tirzah dos Santos Lima, called the rest of the team to talk about the award. “We are four female entrepreneurs and we are very grateful for the opportunity. It was a joint effort by our entire team, our mentors and advisors, that made us get here”, said Carine Serafim da Cunha Silva, member of VitaNanoBio.
The team created a business model for the cleaning market, presenting AdBio, a fast-acting spray, free of preservatives and additives, with antiviral power, based on a nanotechnology developed at Unicamp, which uses a substance from orange pomace.
Awards
All six finalist teams in the Unicamp Challenge will be awarded a certificate proving their classification, in addition to places in the FM2S Development Program. Finalists will also be entitled to pre-acceleration at Baita Aceleradora and exemption from the project submission fee at Unicamp's Technology-Based Business Incubator (Incamp).
Each member of NanoUnique, the big winner of the 13th edition of Unicamp's business modeling competition, will receive R$6, with R$3 as a prize in the General category, offered by the Unicamp Challenge, and another R$3 in the category Greatest Socio-Environmental Impact, offered by Fundação Educar.
About the Unicamp Challenge
The Unicamp 2023 Challenge is carried out by the Inova Unicamp Innovation Agency to stimulate entrepreneurship and scientific and technological innovation based on technologies developed at the University. In 13 years, the competition has trained more than 3.675 people. In 2023, there were 195 people registered in 47 teams distributed in the North, Northeast, South and Southeast regions. Of those enrolled, 56% had no connection with Unicamp.
The program was sponsored by Fundação Educar, FM2S – Educação e Consultoria, ClarkeModet, Instituto Eldorado, Baita Aceleradora and 3M. And it had the support of Campinas Tech, Fundação Fórum Campinas, Liga Empreendedora, Núcleo Campinas, the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), the Federal University of ABC (UFABC), the Municipal Secretariat for Economic Development, Technology and Innovation from Campinas, the University of Barcelona, StartUB, the Unicamp Scientific and Technological Park and Incamp.
