University of São Paulo: USP Innovation and Technology Park has an increase in the number of startups served

The number of companies linked to the Supera Parque de Inovação e Tecnologia, located on the USP campus in Ribeirão Preto, grew 23% in 2021 compared to 2020, reaching a total of 90 startups served. The complex’s revenue also grew compared to the previous year, reaching R$ 46.7 million, which represents an increase of 29%. Together, the companies linked to the park generated R$ 12.5 million in taxes and 512 jobs.

Among the main innovations that marked the year are the approval of the project for the installation of a genomics laboratory and the expansion of the services and infrastructure of the place. All information is contained in the Annual Activity Report , released on February 21 , at this link .

The president of Supera Parque, Sandro Scarpelini, explains that the team manages and works for entrepreneurs to develop, for their companies to grow and for their technological products and services to be part of people’s daily lives. “Doing this for the second year in a row of a pandemic was not easy. That’s why we’re so proud to see how our companies have evolved,” he says.

The mayor of Ribeirão Preto, Duarte Nogueira, highlights the importance of the park with actions aimed at the good of the city and the region. “Supera Parque encourages the creation of startups by investing and bringing solutions so that Ribeirão Preto is increasingly a smart city. The use of technology is also essential for the improvement of public services, as demonstrated during the pandemic, when Supera Parque operated a German robot to process Covid-19 exams on a large scale. With such relevance, we signed a contract in 2021 for the creation and installation of a Hub at Supera Parque, focused on accelerating projects aimed at improving the quality of municipal services”, highlights Duarte Nogueira.

Expansion and vocation for health

Inaugurated in 2014, Supera Parque is the result of a partnership between USP, the Municipality of Ribeirão Preto and the São Paulo State Development Department. Installed on the local USP campus, the park houses the Supera Business Incubator, the Supera Technology Center, the Health Local Productive Arrangement (APL) association, the Software Industrial Pole (Piso), in addition to the Supera Business Center.

The park is now undergoing an expansion with the aim of creating new and larger spaces for entrepreneurs. Throughout 2021, engineering projects were prepared for the execution of a new rainwater and asphalt branch next to the lots. The water, sewage and electricity infrastructure works of the first stage of the Innovation Condominium were completed, enabling the installation of the first company in the Technological Park lots: LychnoFlora.

Another work in progress is the implementation of the access control cabin to the innovation condominium, which will be delivered in the first quarter of 2022, and the conclusion of the Container Park works, in the second half of this year.

Of the companies assisted by the park, 72% work in the biotechnology and health sectors, which range from pharmaceutical R&D startups to information systems for hospital management. The Annual Activity Report also shows that the agribusiness sector has become increasingly relevant, ranking second in terms of company participation.

The growth of agtech startups (focused on agriculture) motivated the creation of Supera Agro, a project that aims to create a connection between companies, startups, farmers, investors and researchers in the agribusiness innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Value to society

In addition to promoting technological companies, the innovation environment supports initiatives that value the human dimension in actions such as SuperaAção, Supera Educa and Juntas na Supera.

SuperaAção, for example, allowed the population to have access to covid-19 tests through the public health system in the most acute phase of the pandemic. During its term (March 2020 to December 31, 2021), 18 startups and more than 100 researchers participated in a partnership with the Municipal Health Department and support from Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz) and Instituto Adolfo Lutz. In all, 156,586 RT-PCR tests were performed for the diagnosis of covid-19.

Juntas no Supera, on the other hand, participated in a project with Grupo Mulheres do Brasil – Núcleo Ribeirão Preto, which supported 235 female entrepreneurs with collective mentorships on the business model and marketing, followed by individual mentorships.

“We have several initiatives that reinforced the vocation of Supera Parque and its startups as the vanguard of innovation that positively impact society. It is our commitment to generate value for society”, highlights Dalton Marques, Development manager at Supera Parque.

“With important far-reaching results between the University and public entities, Supera Parque also reaches the market and entrepreneurs with creativity, innovation and inventiveness. So, it’s good for the city, for the state, for the country and for our campus, because it also promotes synergies and interdisciplinarity and articulation between teams, and between our teams and units with the market. It is a very important ingredient for the development of the campus from a strategic point of view and deserves the attention and collaboration of all of us”, emphasizes the president of the USP Management Board at the Ribeirão Preto campus, Professor Nuno Manuel Morgadinho dos Santos Coelho.

New plans

The budget for 2022 is R$ 17.44 million, intended for the promotion of various initiatives, improvements and infrastructure expansion. “Despite the difficulties imposed by the pandemic, we have had great growth, both in infrastructure and in new partners and beneficiaries, in addition to strengthening our actions and offering solutions for the market. Thus, reinforcing our expertise and relevance in the ecosystem of the region and the country”, emphasizes Eduardo Cicconi, manager of Supera Parque.

Among some of the planned actions, the following stand out: expansion of the Technological Park’s urban infrastructure and completion of the Container Park works, and the start of operation of the genomics laboratory, which will contribute to the development of innovations in oncological, pharmacological, disease studies rare diseases and stem cells, among others.

In addition, an expansion of the services of the Supera Centro de Tecnologia is planned, with new tests accredited by the National Institute of Metrology, Quality and Technology (Inmetro).

For the chairman of the Board of the Fundação Instituto Pólo Vantagens da Saúde de Ribeirão Preto (Fipase), responsible for the management of Supera, and municipal secretary of Innovation and Development, Eduardo Molina, in addition to the excellent results of Supera, with the growth in the number of companies serviced and invoicing and jobs generated, it is worth mentioning the 63.94% growth in the budget from 2021 to 2022, generated by increases in own revenues and also from transfers from the municipality. “This budget will allow for important investments such as the completion of the Container Park, with a total area of ​​3,294.19 square meters and which will house 19 more companies, as well as enabling the expansion of the condominium infrastructure and the new biotechnology and genomics laboratory”, he concludes.