On Monday (17), Caixa Econômica announced its latest program in partnership with Sebrae to promote female entrepreneurship. The bank said the “Caixa para Elas Empreendedoras” campaign will provide R$ 1 billion in lines of credit for women who want to start or already own their own business.

According to Caixa, the average ticket for each line is R$ 1,000 – which must be available by November 19th. To obtain the resource, interested parties must register as an Individual Microentrepreneur (MEI) and participate in a professional training course offered by Sebrae. The program also includes measures to support female entrepreneurship across the country, training and guidance for business development.

The program is aimed at women who already have a business, whether formal or not, and wish to invest in an entrepreneurial career. Daniella Marques, president of Caixa Econômica Federal, highlights that even negative and credit-restricted women can access the new line of credit as long as they formalize themselves as MEIs.

According to the executive, social entrepreneurship is the way out of abusive and toxic relationships. Since taking office, she has been committed to seeing the opportunity as a tool for reducing inequality, focused on women – who are responsible for heading 80% of the families that benefit from the Auxílio Brasil program.

Auxílio Brasil beneficiary can obtain a credit of R$ 1 thousand, without losing access to the social program. According to Daniella, only 5% of women who have an account with Caixa participate in other products offered by the financial institution. Of a total of 17 million beneficiaries, 70% carry out autonomous or informal activities, which is the target audience for the program.

The first step is formalization through registration as an Individual Microentrepreneur (MEI). Then, the interested party must seek training through courses and materials made available by Sebrae on the “Caixa Pra Elas Empreendedoras” website.

Within three months of formalization, the professional will have access to credit to advance receivables and credit cards. In seven months, you will be able to access Fampe (Guarantee Fund for Micro and Small Companies), whose value is R$ 12 thousand. In 12 months, the administrator will be able to look for lines with higher values, such as Pronampe – exclusive to medium and small companies.

“Caixa Pra Elas” was founded in August to welcome, encourage and provide opportunities for women. The program has a dedicated service that offers guidance on violence prevention, financial education, entrepreneurship and products and services designed for them. 

For Thays Cintra, vice president of retail operations at Caixa, “We cannot talk about preventing violence if we do not contribute to financial independence“.

Data from the “Visible and Invisible” survey by the Brazilian Public Security Forum indicate that women were those who suffered most from unemployment during the Covid-19 pandemic and financial dependence is one of the reasons that prevented them from reporting aggressors in cases of domestic violence.

As financial independence is one of the keys to the emancipation of this group, the Caixa program has already distributed R$ 1.7 billion through government programs for women, with 85 thousand new credit cards that were taken out by the beneficiaries.

See more:

Auxílio Brasil loan registers 2 thousand complaints in the first week

Serasa changes consumer score measurement criteria

FGTS Emergency Withdrawal is still available for 12 million workers

Pix: Central Bank will change rules in order to reduce fraud and leaks

CadÚnico has deadline for registration update extended by the Government

How to Transfer the AUXÍLIO BRASIL Amount to another Account