Content for the following post is provided by Sicredi, World Council's direct member organization in Brazil.

For Sicredi, our startup programs have been vital to the development of digital solutions and the evolution of Sicredi and our members.

As such, we created the Inovar Juntos (Innovate Together) program, through which we establish partnerships with companies initiating operations which are able to generate innovative solutions.

One result of this has been Sicredi Conecta, a marketplace application that promotes online business among members, which has been fundamental to the development of business during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Developed by Hallo, which was selected by Sicredi through the Inovar Juntos program, Sicredi Conecta saw a significant increase in the number of transactions over the past few months. The solution is already being used by credit cooperatives affiliated to Sicredi in 18 Brazilian states and has been highly relevant in allowing our members to conduct their business online during the pandemic.

To generate value for Brazilian farmers, we have begun supporting the Intensive Connection startup acceleration program, conceived by AgTech Garage—one of the largest innovation hubs in Latin America for agribusiness. The initiative ended its first stage with results that point to new horizons in the adoption of technology able to generate positive transformation in the field. Some of the solutions developed by the participants were tested by farmers and attained positive evaluations among 92% of them.

Aware of changing behaviors among members. we have also developed new channels to interact with them, such as service through WhatsApp Enterprise, a tool through which we are able to foster a closer, more practical, dynamic and fluid relationship experience. This year alone, over one million services have been provided through this channel, which has proven to be an important ally during this time of social distancing.

For a deeper dive into Sicredi's digital transformation initiatives, check out the latest blog post on our Challenge 2025 page.