Agtechs and the Innovation Ecosystem of the Espírito Santo

Authors

  • Christiane Barbosa e Castro Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo - ESALQ/USP, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5356-2280
  • Paulo Henrique Bertucci Ramos School of Economics, Business and Accounting, University of São Paulo - FEA/USP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2389-6351

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14211/regepe.v10i1.1767

Keywords:

Agribusiness, Challenges, Opportunities, New business models.

Abstract

Objective: to identify the most relevant incentives available to agtechs - also known as agritechs or agrotechs; the challenges they face to reach the scalability phase; and the relationship of these challenges with possible limitations of the local innovation ecosystem. Methodology/approach: the data were collected through qualitative research and examined using the content analysis technique. Main results: (1) the entrepreneurs of the interviewed Agtechs identified different market demands and opportunities; (2) the agtechs relied mainly on support, through incubation and mentoring; (3) these nascent companies had greater difficulty in the prototyping stage, in the identification of resource sources, and the formation of a team, which indicates the need to expand support and offer ecosystem solutions in this direction, as well as to facilitate the access to investors; and (4) the Espírito Santo’s innovation ecosystem still presents a series of challenges so that it can fully fulfill the role of encouraging, in a structured way, startups called agtechs. Theoretical/methodological contributions: the results obtained demonstrate the need for an entrepreneurial ecosystem to foster the development of agtechs and reflect the main difficulties faced by entrepreneurs of these nascent companies in the Brazilian state of Espírito Santo. Relevance/originality: the issues involved in the study comprise themes of central interest for a deeper understanding of the applied dynamics of entrepreneurial ecosystems and Agtechs in the context of the Espírito Santo.

JEL CODE: L26, O31, Q13

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Author Biographies

Christiane Barbosa e Castro, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo - ESALQ/USP, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil

Christiane Barbosa e Castrois manager of the Competitiveness and Productivity Unit at Sebrae/ES. She has an MBA in Agribusiness from ESALQ/USP and an MBA in Marketing from Fundação Getúlio Vargas, with a specialization in Market Access from MPE by FIA/USP and a BA in Architecture and Urbanism from UFES. Her areas of interest include innovation, marketing and business competitiveness.

Paulo Henrique Bertucci Ramos, School of Economics, Business and Accounting, University of São Paulo - FEA/USP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

Paulo Henrique Bertucci Ramosis a doctoral student in Business at the School of Economics, Business and Accounting at the University of São Paulo (FEA/USP). He holds a master’s degree in Management and Innovation in the Animal Industry from the Faculty of Animal Science and Food Engineering at the University of São Paulo (FZEA/USP), a bachelor’s degree in Agronomic Engineering from the Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture at the University of São Paulo (ESALQ/USP) and a bachelor’s degree in Business from the University of Franca (Unifran). His areas of interest include Entrepreneurship and Business Model applied to the Agricultural Sector. His articles have been published in journals such as Innovation & Management Review and Revista da Micro e Pequena Empresa.

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Published

2020-12-25

How to Cite

Castro, C. B. e, & Ramos, P. H. B. (2020). Agtechs and the Innovation Ecosystem of the Espírito Santo. REGEPE Entrepreneurship and Small Business Journal, 10(1), e1767. https://doi.org/10.14211/regepe.v10i1.1767

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Section

Research Articles