Políticas de Apoio Financeiro à Inovação Tecnológica: Avaliação dos Programas MCT/Finep para Empresas de Pequeno Porte

This paper evaluates the main programs of the Science and Technology Department (MCT) designed to give financial support for micro and small business. The programs, conducted by the technology development agency of the MCT, Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos (Finep), are the following: i) Zero Interest Rate Program, ii) Pappe - Program to Support Small Enterprises Research, iii) Pappe - Economic Subvention for Small Enterprise, iv) Economic Subvention for Enterprises ? with reserved funds earmarked for small enterprises, v) Finep/Sebrae partnership to support innovation projects in small enterprises, in cooperation with Science and Technology Institutions; vi) Inovar Project, a program directed to the development of venture capital and seed capital funds. To subsidize the analyses of the programs, developed in section five, the paper discusses, in section two, the difficulties of small firms in accessing conventional credit, and presents a conceptual model of the main types of equity financing for small firms, associated to their business life cycle. Section three reviews information about the support for research and innovation for small enterprises in some countries, and describes interesting experiences of programs to develop the venture capital market. Section four reviews the new Brazilian legislation directed for supporting research and innovation processes in the productive sector, which are made up of the following policy instruments and legislation: Funds for Science and Technology; Brazilian Industrial Technological and Trade Policy (PITCE); Law 10.973/2004 Foreign (Innovation Law) and the Micro and Small Firms? Statute, recently approved by the National Congress. Section six presents the summary and the final comments.