Entrepreneurship takes on a strategic function in constructing new paths in needy communities

The carioca funk group “Os Hawaianos” were the highlight of the penultimate day of Campus Party Brasil 2022. In a mix of interview, lecture and workshop, the members talked about entrepreneurship and art “from the hoods”, to the sound of music and under many applause from the audience.

While Os Hawaianos extolled education and knowledge to celebrate commercial success, another young dreamer showed – a few meters away – the way to change lives and futures through representation of the peripheries. “The favela represented changes the fate of many people. In fact, it changes the direction of a society”, celebrates Tauan Matos, one of the creators of the Mais1Code movement,.

They are two different worlds – Cidade de Deus, in Rio de Janeiro, and the outskirts of the northern part of São Paulo -, but which are connected in the dream of freedom, representativeness and entrepreneurship. They are aspects of the same trajectory and the same concept: learning more and more and disseminating knowledge, especially among young people.

The Hawaiians have been together for 20 years, including a brief period apart. They left the favela and became known as musicians and singers at the time when the Hurricane 2000 circuit dominated Rio. They did odd jobs and sold candies at traffic lights until music offered new paths, but quite bumpy ones.

“If we had opportunities for knowledge and learning about finance and entrepreneurship, we would possibly be rich and avoid many problems”, says Yuri Hawaiano, one of the members. “The Youth League Challenge is extraordinary, as it offers wonderful learning opportunities for underprivileged young people. I say more: it offers a future. I wanted Sebrae by my side in the 2000s, when we started, adds Yuri.”

Another member, Tonzão, reinforces the partner’s words and values ​​entrepreneurial education and training young people in this knowledge model. “I like when they take us as an example. We are examples of what it is possible to undertake in the favela and, above all, create jobs and create business models.”

The Hawaianos are one of the most important funk groups in Brazil today. They are among the most heard with the hit “Desenrola, Bate e jo de Ladinho”, and gathered a small crowd at the Campus Party twice in separate lectures.

Tauan Matos, from Mais1Code, also uses examples from the communities to reinforce the representativeness theme as a way to raise the self-esteem of young entrepreneurs.
The Mais1Code initiative has already offered courses in technological development, information technology and English for more than 5,000 underprivileged young people, also impacting the trajectory of another 13,000 people.

“The favela, being represented, increases the chances of development opportunities. And young people are fundamental to this process”, says the executive.
At the age of 28, he believes that more initiatives like his and the Young League Challenge are needed, which are fundamental for technological solutions to be achieved and impact the daily life of the favelas.

“We are immensely proud when we observe that young entrepreneurs from underprivileged communities have obtained extraordinary results by immersing themselves in technology”, celebrates Matos. “We support great initiatives, such as the development of applications for residents of communities that give advance warning of the possibility of storms, which cause flooding and landslides. It impacts and changes the life of the community,” he adds.

Source: Sebrae Agency