Instituto Ayrton Senna

What Instituto Ayrton Senna does

Instituto Ayrton Senna is a Brazilian nonprofit organization founded in 1994 by the family of three-time Formula 1 world champion Ayrton Senna, operating from São Paulo with a mission to expand educational opportunities for children and youth through Brazil's public education system. The institute works across three pillars — research and innovation, large-scale program dissemination, and public-policy advocacy — and has reached an estimated 36-39 million children and youth across more than 3,000 municipalities in all Brazilian states over 30 years. Its portfolio spans literacy and learning-recovery programs (Se Liga, Acelera Brasil), socio-emotional competency development (Instrumento Senna, Diálogos Socioemocionais), computational thinking (Letramento em Programação), and school management support, delivered through direct partnerships with municipal and state education secretariats at no cost to public schools.

The institute's core technology stack includes the eduLab21 science laboratory for education, which produces evidence on human development; the Cátedra Instituto Ayrton Senna at IEA-USP Ribeirão Preto, an academic chair focused on educational assessment innovation; the Brightspace-based Espaço Educador platform for online courses, certifications, and socio-emotional assessment; and the humane educator development portal. Research outputs (studies, guides, policy analyses) are published through the Estante do Pesquisador library. The organization also runs the annual McDia Feliz fundraising campaign with McDonald's Brazil, which in 2025 generated R$4.7M directed to 6 education projects that trained 44,000+ educators and reached 684,000 students.

The institute is funded through a diversified mix of corporate partnerships (30+ recurring partners including Itaú, BASF, DXC Technology, Citi, UBS, BTG Pactual, Pearson, and McDonald's Brazil), individual donations, public-private co-financing with education secretariats, and annual campaign proceeds. No organizational revenue figure is publicly disclosed. Leadership is provided by President Viviane Senna (Ayrton Senna's sister), Vice-President Ewerton Fulini, Director of Education Inês Kisil Miskalo, and Cátedra holder Maria Helena Guimarães de Castro, with the organization employing 101-250 staff. Notable independent validation includes the 17th-place ranking among TheDotGood's 200 best social impact organizations globally (2025), the Diploma Bertha Lutz from the Brazilian Senate (2025), and separate tributes from both chambers of the National Congress marking the institute's 30th anniversary (2024).

Name

Instituto Ayrton Senna

Legal name

Instituto Ayrton Senna

Website

https://institutoayrtonsenna.org.br

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Instituto Ayrton Senna is a Brazilian nonprofit founded in 1994 that partners with public schools and education secretariats across 3,000+ municipalities to deliver evidence-based literacy, socio-emotional, and learning-recovery programs to millions of children, funded by 30+ corporate partners and the McDia Feliz campaign.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Nonprofit Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Policy, Research & Advocacy Organizations (Nonprofit) (BPAGADAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Teacher Training, Professional Development & Education Leadership (BPADAKAC), Curriculum Design & Scope/Sequence (School-Led) (EDAJAFAA), EdTech & Digital Learning Policy Research (EDADADAK)

Keywords

• Public education programs
• Literacy and learning recovery
• Teacher training services
• Socio-emotional learning
• Education nonprofit consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

São Paulo

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Corporate Partnerships and Sponsorships: The organization receives support from over 30 corporate partners who fund educational programs. Partners include major Brazilian and multinational companies such as Itaú, BASF, DXC Technology, and others who contribute financially in exchange for ESG alignment and social impact association.
2. McDia Feliz Campaign: Annual fundraising campaign in partnership with McDonald's Brazil where Big Mac sales proceeds are donated. The 2025 edition generated R$4.7 million for education projects, funding 6 projects, training 44,000+ educators, and reaching 684,000 students.
3. Individual Donations: Direct donations from individuals who support the organization's mission to accelerate public education quality in Brazil.
4. Public-Private Partnerships: Partnerships with municipal and state education secretariats to implement educational programs, often with shared funding arrangements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Instituto Ayrton Senna operates as a nonprofit education innovation center that designs, disseminates at scale, and advocates for evidence-based educational programs (literacy, learning recovery, socio-emotional competency development, computational thinking, and school management) targeted at Brazilian public K-12 schools. Programs are delivered free of charge through partnerships with municipal and state education secretariats, supported by proprietary digital learning platforms (Espaço Educador, humane) and a science laboratory (eduLab21) that produces the underlying research evidence.

Product overview

Instituto Ayrton Senna operates as an education innovation center working across three fronts: research and innovation (eduLab21), large-scale dissemination of educational programs, and public policy advocacy. The organization offers a portfolio of educational programs including literacy and learning recovery programs (Se Liga, Acelera Brasil), socioemotional competency development (Competências Socioemocionais, Diálogos Socioemocionais), and computational thinking education (Letramento em Programação). Its technology platforms include the humane educator development platform, the Brightspace-based Plataforma Espaço Educador for online courses and student assessment, and the Cátedra at USP-Ribeirão Preto for educational assessment research. The organization also conducts the annual McDia Feliz fundraising campaign and publishes research through the Estante do Pesquisador library.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• eduLab21: Science laboratory for education that produces scientific evidence to support educational initiatives
• Cátedra Instituto Ayrton Senna de Inovação em Avaliação Educacional
• McDia Feliz
• Se Liga
• Acelera Brasil

Products and services

• eduLab21 Science laboratory that produces scientific evidence to support educational initiatives and expand knowledge about human development, conducting studies on socio-emotional competencies, literacy, and educational innovation for use across the institute's programs and partnerships.
• Plataforma Espaço Educador Digital learning platform (built on Brightspace/D2L) offering online courses, educator certifications, and student assessment and monitoring systems including socio-emotional instruments, delivered to teachers in public school networks across Brazil.
• humane Online educator development platform delivering webinars, educational content, and resources for teachers and education professionals, including content from the Cátedra Instituto Ayrton Senna de Inovação em Avaliação Educacional.
• Cátedra Instituto Ayrton Senna de Inovação em Avaliação Educacional Academic chair at IEA-USP Ribeirão Preto that promotes debate, supports studies, and fosters connections between researchers, educators, and policymakers on educational assessment innovation, monitoring, and policy influence for basic and higher education.
• Alfabetização e Recomposição da Aprendizagem Portfolio of educational strategies and monitoring tools focused on developing fundamental reading and writing skills in early childhood and elementary education, including the Se Liga and Acelera Brasil school-lag recovery programs.
• Competências Socioemocionais para Estudantes Program focused on developing and monitoring socio-emotional competencies in students (empathy, focus, responsibility, resilience, critical thinking, creativity), including the Instrumento Senna for assessment, delivered in partnership with municipal and state education secretariats.
• Plano Anual Instituto Ayrton Senna Annual structured partnership program offered to education networks to strengthen literacy, teacher training, and learning in public schools through jointly defined annual plans, including the 2025 Plano Anual delivered with partner municipalities.
• McDia Feliz Annual Fundraising Campaign Annual national fundraising campaign operated in partnership with McDonald's Brazil (Arcos Dourados), through which Big Mac sales proceeds are directed to Instituto Ayrton Senna's education projects; the 2025 edition raised R$4.7 million, funding 6 projects, training 44,000+ educators, and reaching 684,000 students.

Quantifiable outcome

• R$18.56 social return per R$1 invested in Se Liga and Acelera Brasil programs
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• DXC TechnologycoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partner providing IT infrastructure and digital solutions support for the institute's platforms.
• BCG (Boston Consulting Group)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerStrategy consulting partner providing pro-bono advisory support for education transformation initiatives.
• Stefanini GroupcoreTechnology or IntegrationIT services partner supporting technology infrastructure for education programs.
• PearsoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducation publishing partner for content development and educational materials.
• McDonald's Brazil (Arcos Dourados)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary partner for McDia Feliz annual campaign where Big Mac sales proceeds fund education projects. Major annual fundraising initiative generating millions for education.
• USP Ribeirão Preto - Instituto de Estudos Avançados (IEA-USP)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCátedra Instituto Ayrton Senna de Inovação em Avaliação Educacional partnership with USP focusing on educational assessment innovation, research, and policy influence. Led by Maria Helena Guimarães de Castro.
• IDIS (Instituto para o Desenvolvimento do Investimento Social)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for cost-benefit evaluation of Se Liga and Acelera Brasil programs, producing social return metrics.
• FTD EducaçãocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducation publisher partner for content and educational material development.
• LEPES (Laboratório de Estudos e Pesquisas em Economia Social - USP RP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partnership for socio-emotional studies during pandemic, analyzing student trajectories before, during, and after COVID-19.
• TheDotGoodminorOthersSwiss organization that monitors NGO activities globally and publishes annual ranking of top 200 social impact organizations, recognizing the institute's work.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• UNESCO (Education Sector): UN agency setting global education standards and funding education programs, including in Latin America. Comparable as a peer operating at the intersection of education research, policy advocacy, and large-scale program dissemination.
• Ashoka: Global network identifying and supporting leading social entrepreneurs, with significant education-focused programming. Comparable as a peer in the education social-impact space with similar advocacy, capacity-building, and education-system-change missions.
• Fundação Bradesco: Large Brazilian corporate foundation operating its own schools and K-12 education programs at scale. Comparable as a Brazilian education-focused foundation with national footprint and corporate backing, though primarily direct-delivery rather than partnership-based.

Emerging players

• Room to Read: Global education nonprofit focused on literacy and girls' education across multiple developing countries. Comparable as an international education nonprofit with similar literacy and learning-recovery programs but operating outside Brazil.
• Instituto Reúna: Brazilian nonprofit focused on evidence-based education research, curriculum, and teacher professional development. Comparable as a Brazilian peer in education research and large-scale program implementation, particularly around teacher training and instructional materials.

Direct peers

• Instituto Natura: Brazilian nonprofit focused on education, socio-emotional learning, and youth development in public schools. Comparable as a peer operating socio-emotional competency and educator training programs in Brazilian public education networks.
• Instituto Unibanco: Brazilian nonprofit working with state education secretariats on youth education, school management, and learning assessment. Operates the Jovem de Futuro program, a near-identical model of partnering with public education networks for measurable outcomes.
• Todos pela Educação: Brazilian education advocacy and policy nonprofit focused on basic education indicators and public policy influence. Comparable as a peer operating at the intersection of education research, advocacy, and public policy engagement in Brazil.
• Fundação Itaú Social: Corporate foundation of Itaú Unibanco running education and social development programs in Brazil. Comparable as a peer that is also a major Brazilian corporate foundation funding and operating public education programs (and is itself a partner of Instituto Ayrton Senna).
• Fundação Lemann: Brazilian nonprofit focused on improving public education quality at scale, including literacy and school leadership programs. Directly comparable as a Brazilian education-focused philanthropic foundation competing for similar corporate CSR and government partnerships.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/instayrtonsenna
• Facebookfacebook.com/institutoayrtonsenna
• LinkedInbr.linkedin.com/company/institutoayrtonsenna
• Instagraminstagram.com/institutoayrtonsenna

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Instituto Ayrton Senna