ALI Program — Local Innovation Agents (Agentes Locais de Inovação)

ALI Program — Local Innovation Agents (Agentes Locais de Inovação)

Offers free innovation advisory support in Brazil for micro and small enterprises through Sebrae.

The Programa ALI (Agentes Locais de Inovação) is a free in-company innovation advisory programme operated by SEBRAE in partnership with CNPq (Brazil's National Council for Scientific and Technological Development). Resident ALI agents — whose scholarships are funded by CNPq — visit enrolled businesses regularly over the programme cycle to diagnose management and innovation practices and support implementation of improvements. No cash is transferred to the participating company; the value of the programme is the structured, on-site advisory delivered by a trained agent.

Eligible beneficiaries are Brazilian for-profit micro and small businesses (MEI, ME, EPP) with an active CNPJ registered for at least 12 months. Companies that have previously participated in any edition of ALI are not eligible to apply again. The programme accepts applications through two annual intake windows — January and July — making it a rolling but intake-gated opportunity rather than a continuous one. Businesses across manufacturing, agribusiness, and technology sectors have historically participated, though the programme is sector-agnostic.

Organisations interested in the Programa ALI should monitor their state SEBRAE unit for announcements of the January and July intake windows and prepare company registration documents (CNPJ, business overview) in advance. Selection is managed at the state level by each SEBRAE unit; demand typically exceeds available agent capacity, so timely application during the intake window is important. The programme is especially valuable for micro and small businesses that lack internal innovation management expertise and would benefit from structured external advisory support.