Innovation
present in the Group’s culture
R$291.6 million
in financial gains for the Algar Group
810
projects and prototypes presented
13th year
that the Algar Show has been held to promote innovative ideas
Our growth has always been connected with the innovative DNA present in the Group’s culture since inception. Despite being the first to develop and launch countless solutions and services in Brazil, we stand out mainly for the way we interact with the production chain. We structured innovation in a fairly consistent manner so that our recent moves promote synergies among companies, the government’s development agencies, universities, customers and suppliers.
We introduced the position of VP-Strategy and Innovation and IMO (Corporate Innovation Management Office), created to develop and monitor prototypes of the Organization’s new business and innovation initiatives. Additionally, the structure helps the Group seek new partnerships, raise funds, organize training and forge relationships with different organizations, as well as engage in coordinated action with the government and industry associations.
In the technology business, it is essential to have innovative products to boost competitiveness, mainly because of global competitors and foreign companies. For example, innovation at Algar Telecom is largely pursued jointly with universities and development agencies. Since 2007, the Company has been conducting Programming Marathons to find and recruit young geniuses, who receive scholarships and high-level training to become developers of communications platforms, technology and solutions.
Algar Tech has also made progress in the field of open innovation, mainly with respect to customers facing challenges in IT business processes. With an extensive supplier network and experience in the field, Algar Tech serves as a connections between the expertise of different technology companies and seeks high success rates in developing the best solutions for customers. In 2014, Algar Tech acquired Lince Analytics after a joint innovation process. The Lince has experience in developing big data solutions and Customer Experience Management (CEM).
Innovation Lab
The Innovation Lab was created in 2014 to develop and validate new ideas and solutions for real problems. It is meant to promote collaborative creation both internally and externally; be a reference for start-up entrepreneurs, researchers, inventors and other innovative centers; identify new business opportunities and innovative solutions; and disseminate the innovative methodologies used by the Algar Group (Innovatrix, Canvas and Design Thinking among others).Algar Incubator Program
Algar believes in people’s entrepreneurship and creativity. Therefore, it created the Algar Incubator Program in 2013 to help entrepreneurs bring their ideas to fruition by offering them training, processes, structures and, above all, capital. Any person, group or association with good ideas in line with the Algar Group’s vision and values can enroll in the program on the website www.algar.com.br/incubadora. A dedicated committee examines each business plan and assesses its feasibility to decide whether the project is eligible for the program.
Mostra Algar de Inovação
In 2014, the Uberlândia community was engaged in Mostra Algar de Inovação [Algar Innovation Show], which Algar has been holding for over 13 years to encourage innovative ideas. It featured presentations of 50 projects and prototypes, 40 of which by Algar associates and 10 by educational institutions such as the Francisco Moreira da Costa Electronics Vocational School, from Santa Rita do Sapucaí (Minas Gerais State), companies and other entities. Since its first edition, the show has produced financial gains of R$291.6 million – fivefold the R$51.1 million invested in the project – for the Algar Group and led to 810 projects developed.