BNDES Garagem

BNDES Garagem — Ciclo 3 (Terceira Edição)

Backs impact startups addressing green economy, education, health, public safety, and blue economy sectors.

BNDES Garagem is BNDES's flagship impact business accelerator, now in its third edition running through 2028, selecting up to 100 impact startups per annual cycle. The program operates across two tracks: Criação (early-stage ventures) and Tração (scale-up stage businesses), with 50 selections per track per cycle. Cash prizes are awarded as donations — no equity is taken and no repayment is required. In Ciclo 2, the total prize pool was R$915,000 distributed across 16 finalists: the Tração first-place prize is R$160,000, second place R$105,000, third R$85,000, fourth R$74,000, and fifth R$64,000; the Criação first-place prize is R$85,000 scaling down to R$32,000 for fifth place, plus an additional BNDES Garagem Mais Brasil prize of up to R$30,000 per Tração winner and R$20,000 per Criação winner for ventures from Brazil's Norte/Nordeste regions or focused on Economia da Periferia.

Thematic focus areas for the third edition are: Economia Verde e Descarbonização, Educação, Saúde, Economia da Periferia, Segurança Pública, and Economia Azul. Each cycle lasts approximately six months across two phases and concludes with a Demoday. Ciclo 2 of the third edition closed for applications on September 14, 2025, is currently in Phase 2 acceleration (through June 3, 2026), and concludes with its Demoday on June 16, 2026. Ciclo 3 is expected to open for applications in late 2026 or early 2027 per the annual cadence. Eligibility requires Brazilian registration (CNPJ mandatory for Tração, not eliminatory for Criação); NGOs must qualify as negócio de impacto under Decreto 11.646/2023 with demonstrated market logic. The program is executed by impact accelerator Quintessa on behalf of BNDES.

To maximize selection odds, applicants should align their venture squarely with one of the six prioritized themes, demonstrate measurable social or environmental impact metrics alongside commercial traction, and — for the Mais Brasil prize — document geographic operations in the Norte or Nordeste region. The two-phase selection process includes PitchDays at the midpoint and conclusion of acceleration, so strong public pitch performance matters beyond written application quality. Monitoring garagem.bndes.gov.br for the Ciclo 3 opening announcement is the recommended approach given that Ciclo 3 dates have not yet been published.