Léo RamosAt Natura’s laboratory, essential oils extracted from Brazil’s biodiversity of plantsLéo Ramos
The names of Brazil’s recipients of the Finep Innovation Award for 2013 were announced in December 2013. The winning companies will share prizes totaling R$9 million. Headquartered in São Paulo, Natura took first place in the large business category for its contributions in the production of innovative, sustainable cosmetics. Braile Biomédica, based in the rural São Paulo city of São José do Rio Preto, won among medium-sized companies in recognition of its series of innovative medical instruments, especially for use in cardiology. The honoree in the category of small businesses was Marina Borrachas, a firm located in Triunfo, Rio Grande do Sul, which produces rubber components for the oil, gas, and automotive industries. The award for sustainable innovation went to CBPak, in the city of Rio de Janeiro, which was paid tribute for its manufacture of drinking glasses from cassava starch. Top among institutes of science and technology was the Center for Research and Development in Telecommunications (CPqD), located in rural Campinas, São Paulo, a facility that specializes in solutions for the information technology and communications sectors. F123 Consulting, from Curitiba, Paraná, received the award in the category of assistive technology for its development of a software program that lets the visually impaired read computer screens. The State of Acre Technology Foundation (Funtac), an agency that produces seeds and seedlings from native Amazon plants, was the winner in social technology. The title of innovative inventor for 2013 went to the entrepreneur José Roberto do Amaral Assy, of Caldas Novas, Goiás, who developed a system that measures out seeds in the planting of grains and legumes.
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