How can entrepreneurial education be implemented in schools? Conexão Bett spoke with Danilo Martinez, director of the “Educação que Transforma” program at Sebrae in Pernambuco, to answer this question.

The Sebrae/PE initiative fosters a culture of entrepreneurship among administrators, teachers, and students by promoting the knowledge, skills, and entrepreneurial attitudes that are essential for the business, professional, and digital markets.

When discussing the importance of entrepreneurship in education, Martinez emphasizes the use of methodologies appropriate for each age group. “We like to explore entrepreneurship in all its various forms and aspects,” he said. He explains that systemic planning, for example, is an entrepreneurial approach that can be adapted to a student’s level of complexity. “With elementary school students, we start by planning family activities, such as a weekend trip, showing how planning can enhance the experience, reduce costs, and expand opportunities to discover new places.”

Regarding the challenges of entrepreneurship education in Brazil, the director of Sebrae/PE warns of the sector’s decline, which has been exacerbated by the pandemic. “We’ve seen the impact of diverting resources from education to health care—which was necessary—but we cannot ignore the gaps that have been created in education during this period. In some municipalities, we went nearly two years without classes,” he laments.

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He also highlights the difficulties faced by students in socially vulnerable situations, such as those who “depend on the tide to get to school by raft” in regions like Itapsuma, in the state of Pernambuco. “Entrepreneurship is a tool for addressing this social inequality, empowering young people to take charge of their own lives,” he says.

Martinez emphasizes that entrepreneurship should not be focused solely on profit, but also on social, environmental, and financial sustainability. “When we teach a young person to turn an idea into action, we are fighting social inequality by providing tools for them and their community,” he says. He also criticizes school dropout rates, which are often caused by young people’s need to contribute to their family’s income. “Some national programs have helped keep students in school, but it’s not enough to simply provide resources; we must teach them how to use those resources effectively,” he emphasizes.

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As for the future of the “Education That Transforms” program, Martinez reveals new developments for next year, with the goal of expanding the reach of entrepreneurial education projects in schools. “We want to develop methodologies that provide students with tools they can use in their personal, professional, and entrepreneurial lives,” he explains.

He cites the "Jovens de Impacto" methodology, which focuses on social entrepreneurship and provides tools such as project management, ideation, and fundraising. "Our goal is to foster an ecosystem of innovation, where students take the lead and teachers scale up their projects to reach more people," he says.

Martinez also reveals that Sebrae/PE is drafting a call for proposals so that teachers can receive grants to scale up their entrepreneurial education projects. “It’s important that teachers not only carry out the projects but also be able to develop their own ideas. We want them to transform their intellectual development into practical solutions that can be showcased at a Sebrae exhibition and adopted by other teachers and schools, creating a true ecosystem of innovation,” he concludes.

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