Dom Cabral Foundation launches Pra>Frente Play

The Dom Cabral Foundation (FDC), one of the nine best business schools in the world according to the ranking of the British newspaper Financial Times (2020 edition), has been developing thousands of companies and leaders from all segments for 45 years. This history of achievement also brings great responsibility. Therefore, in 2020, faced with the growing number of people who lost income during the pandemic, FDC launched Pra>Frente with the aim of generating economic development through education in Management and Entrepreneurship for grassroots entrepreneurs.

The initiative has been made possible with the support of partners such as the Bem Maior Movement, social organizations, and companies that sponsor the project. In the pilot project, the initiative transformed the lives of more than 800 people in 9 months, including 602 grassroots entrepreneurs and 200 volunteers who acted as mentors. “Just as the vaccine and social distancing represent the best ways to combat Covid-19, we consider education to be the main remedy for reducing poverty,” explains Ana Carolina Almeida, leader of the Pra>Frente Movement.

In August of this year, a new phase of the initiative was launched: Pra>Frente Play, a content streaming platform that is completely free for the people who will be trained. The goal is to train 5,500 people. “But our goal is ambitious! The platform has the potential to train 1 million people with the support of the ecosystem,” believes Ana Carolina.

Pra>Frente Play offers content in different formats, including videos, podcasts, ebooks, quizzes, and missions. Everything is easily accessible, with optimized navigation and simple functionalities. With personalized journeys, the user browses the menu and chooses the content that makes sense to them at the time of access. To ensure a good connection, the platform was designed for low data consumption and is linked to WhatsApp.

The Pra>Frente Play methodology is proprietary to FDC. It was developed to leverage the best of each individual to create a turning point for those who are already entrepreneurs and also for those who want (or need) to be. More than a digital platform, Pra>Frente Play is a learning journey that combines content and entertainment in a fun and business-applicable way.

In this sense, the methodology takes into account:

• The problems of the popular entrepreneur: exclusive content created from the biggest challenges faced by entrepreneurs.

• Entertainment: topics that combine humor with practical and behavioral approaches.

• 100% hands-on: learning by doing, developing observation skills, critical thinking, and practical application.

• Entrepreneurial behavior: focus on attitudes (across all segments, regions, and economic scenarios).

• Agile: Agile methodologies, from conception to application of content, always up-to-date.

With each series available on the platform, the entrepreneur is challenged to complete a mission. In this way, FDC ensures that knowledge is being put into practice. Each mission has an indicator, and thus, the Dom Cabral Foundation creates a standard that allows for the development of a broad database on applicability.

In addition to FDC specialists, Pra>Frente has "take-off" mentors. This is the name given by the Dom Cabral Foundation to volunteer mentors who contribute to grassroots entrepreneurs by offering psychosocial support, helping with new ideas, sharing experiences, and monitoring the progress of results. Based on profiles, the platform itself automatically connects the take-off mentor to the grassroots entrepreneur. Today, there are already 700 registered mentors. Pra>Frente Play also has content developed for volunteers, training them to provide support. With their login, they can navigate a version specifically designed for them.

“Alongside businesses, civil society, and the public sector, we contribute our leadership, experience, and expertise to create a network of prosperity that will transform the lives of many people,” celebrates Nádia Rampi, leader of the FDC-Centro Social Cardeal Dom Serafim, responsible for all social actions of the Dom Cabral Foundation.

Registrations

There are 3 ways for grassroots entrepreneurs to participate:

• Through referrals from sponsoring companies;

• Through referrals from partner civil society organizations;

• Registrations are made directly by the small-scale entrepreneurs through Pra>Frente's social media channels and website: https://prafrente.fdc.org.br

Pra>Frente Play is designed exclusively for small business entrepreneurs (MEIs and informal workers) and those seeking to take off, who will receive training.