See the 2016 BtoBe Contest winners

The Ocksa, Larsan and Femman brands are the winners of the 2016 BtoBe (Brazilians to Be) Contest, an initiative of Texbrasil, the Brazilian Fashion Industry Internationalization Program, developed by Abit in partnership with Apex-Brasil (Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency), aimed chiefly at discovering, training and promoting new entrepreneurial fashion designers in the international market.

In addition to entering the BtoBe Project, the winning designers will participate in a customized acceleration program developed by Tropos Lab, a consulting firm based in Belo Horizonte that specializes in startups. The goal of the accelerator is to submit the entrepreneurs to a large load of information, in an effort to test hypotheses about their companies, products and customers, in order to find an economically sustainable business model.

Daniel de Lara Santos, of recent member Larsan, says that being part of BtoBe and receiving training to develop the brand is extremely valuable. “I hope that this opportunity can open doors in Brazil and abroad. I think that it will be a time for preparation, education and a lot of hard work. I’m ready to triple my efforts for everything to work out right,” he says.

Fernanda Bueno, a designer with Femman, is also excited about her entry into the program. “When I received the notice that I was one of the brands chosen for BtoBe 2016, I was completely euphoric, because it will be a great opportunity for growth and to spread my brand’s ideas and mission to the national and international markets,” she says.

On April 19, the winners of the fourth edition of BtoBe took part in the first edition of the BtoBe Demo Day, an event held in Sao Paulo highlighting how these new executives interact with mentors from various areas, exchanging experiences, networking and developing business. Also taking part in this first edition were the Gabrielab (SP), Helen Rödel (RS), Japonique (SP), Reptilia (PR) and Trendt (SP) brands.

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