SER ESPECIAL

What SER ESPECIAL does

SER ESPECIAL (legal name: Ser Especial – Associação Assistencial de Integração ao Trabalho) is a Brazilian non-profit association founded on May 13, 2002 in São Paulo by Carmen Lydia da Silva Trunci de Marco and qualified as an OSCIP (Civil Society Organization of Public Interest) by Brazil's Ministry of Justice in August 2015. The organization specializes in the professional inclusion of people with disabilities (PCDs) into the formal labor market, primarily helping companies comply with Brazil's Lei de Cotas (Law 8.213/91). Its core offering is the proprietary 'Inclusão Monitorada' (Monitored Inclusion) methodology, developed over 17+ years in partnership with reference school Colégio Paulicéia. This social technology encompasses recruitment, training, selection, and post-hiring retention support as an integrated service architecture delivered by a multidisciplinary team of social workers, psychologists, therapists, and occupational doctors.

The service portfolio includes three hiring modalities (Contratação Competitiva, Contratação Seletiva, Aprendizagem Profissional), professional training for PCDs, technical accompaniment services for employers, and the GuiaANCtur tourism guide qualification program delivered with UniRio and the Ministry of Tourism. The organization also manages 66 São Paulo municipal telecenter units under a collaboration agreement with SMIT, providing internet access, co-working, and digital inclusion services. Operations span four physical units in São Paulo (Centro, Congonhas, Liberdade, Belém) plus regional centers in Teresina (Piauí) and Belém, serving 100+ partner companies across diverse industries including McDonald's, Syngenta, Citibank, Vigor, Danone, Hospital Sírio Libanês, and ClearSale.

Revenue derives from three principal streams: (1) per-employee monthly technical accompaniment fees from corporate clients, with tiered discounts through the Sindilojas-SP union partnership (10% standard, 20% above 20 active contracts); (2) government contracts including the São Paulo SMIT telecenter management agreement and SAICA program participation; and (3) training program fees from partnerships such as GuiaANCtur with UniRio and the Ministry of Tourism. Go-to-market is community-led (corporate partnership-driven) and event-driven (public training and awareness programs), with a hybrid segmentation approach targeting both individual PCD job seekers and enterprise HR/compliance buyers.

Name

SER ESPECIAL

Legal name

Ser Especial – Associação Assistencial de Integração ao Trabalho

Website

https://serespecial.org.br

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SER ESPECIAL is a Brazilian non-profit OSCIP that facilitates professional inclusion of people with disabilities in the formal labor market. Its proprietary 'Inclusão Monitorada' methodology delivers recruitment, training, and retention support to 100+ partner companies across multiple Brazilian states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Disability Workforce Inclusion Services

NAICS

Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131), Professional Employer Organizations (561330)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Workforce Compliance & Employment Law Risk Management (Local Labor Law, Tax, Statutory) (BPACAHAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Onboarding, Offboarding & Employee Lifecycle Administration (BPACAHAL), Professional Employer Organization (PEO) / Co-Employment Services (BPACAHAB)

Keywords

• Disability inclusion services
• Workforce inclusion programs
• Professional apprenticeship services
• Quota law compliance support
• Social inclusion nonprofit

Headquarters

HQ city

São Paulo

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Service fees for companies: SER ESPECIAL provides technical support and monitoring services to companies seeking to hire people with disabilities through Brazil's Lei de Cotas (Quota Law). Companies receive discounts (10-20%) on technical accompaniment services for hiring PCDs.
2. Government partnerships: The organization maintains term of collaboration agreements with the São Paulo municipality (SAICA program), managing public telecenters and other social programs through government contracts.
3. Training programs: SER ESPECIAL executes qualification programs for tourism guides in partnership with universities and government bodies, such as the GuiaANCtur project with UniRio and Ministry of Tourism.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

SER ESPECIAL is a non-profit work-integration association that places and supports people with disabilities in formal employment through its proprietary "Inclusão Monitorada" methodology, encompassing three hiring modalities—competitive hiring, selective hiring, and professional apprenticeship—alongside free professional training, post-hiring monitoring, and technical accompaniment for corporate clients needing Lei de Cotas (8.213/91) compliance. It also executes qualification programs (GuiaANCtur) and manages a public telecenter network under municipal partnership.

Product overview

SER ESPECIAL is a non-profit association (Associação Assistencial de Integração ao Trabalho - AAIT) offering a unified portfolio of services focused on professional and social inclusion of people with disabilities. The core offering is the 'Inclusão Monitorada' methodology, which encompasses monitoring through recruitment, training, selection, and post-hiring support processes. The portfolio includes three main hiring modalities: Contratação Competitiva (regular competitive hiring), Contratação Seletiva (selective hiring with special support), and Aprendizagem Profissional (professional apprenticeship). Additionally, the organization manages public telecenters, delivers the Projeto GuiaANCtur tourism qualification program in partnership with UniRio, and provides technical follow-up services for companies. The organization operates multiple units in São Paulo and maintains partnerships with companies for placement and training.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• GuiaANCtur: Technical specialization project in Cultural and Natural Attractions for Regional Tourism Guides, developed in partnership with UniRio and the Ministry of Tourism.
• Centro de Capacitação e Aprendizagem Belém (CCAB)

Products and services

• Inclusão Monitorada (Monitored Inclusion) Proprietary social technology methodology covering recruitment, training, selection, and post-hiring monitoring to increase workplace retention of people with disabilities, co-developed with Colégio Paulicéia over 17+ years.
• Contratação Competitiva (Competitive Hiring) Regular hiring process under Brazilian labor and social-security legislation that does not require special procedures, although special support may be utilized, offered to corporate clients hiring people with disabilities.
• Contratação Seletiva (Selective Hiring) Hiring process under Brazilian labor legislation that depends on adoption of special procedures and support for completion, where the person with disability works in a protected therapeutic workshop maintained by a partnered entity.
• Aprendizagem Profissional (Professional Apprenticeship) Direct or indirect hiring process for apprentices enrolled in Brazilian learning programs, aimed at technical-professional formation compatible with their physical, moral, and psychological development.
• Projeto GuiaANCtur (Tourism Guide Qualification Program) Technical specialization program in cultural and natural attractions for regional tourism guides with CADASTUR registration, executed in partnership with UniRio and the Ministry of Tourism, covering Southeast Brazil.
• Telecentros (Public Telecenter Management) Management of public internet-access centers providing internet access, co-working spaces, and technology training as a citizenship tool, including 66 units under collaboration agreements with the São Paulo municipal government.
• Capacitação Profissional para PCDs (Professional Training for People with Disabilities) Free professional qualification courses for people with disabilities in partnership with companies, covering skills development and job-market integration training.
• Acompanhamento Técnico (Technical Accompaniment) Technical monitoring services for companies regarding hiring of people with disabilities, offering special conditions and discounts for partnered businesses through Sindilojas-SP, billed monthly per active apprentice, intern, or PCD employee.

Quantifiable outcome

• Higher PCD retention rates through monitored inclusion methodology
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Sindilojas-SP (Sindicato dos Lojistas do Comércio de São Paulo)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 2 June 2022Partnership offering 10-20% discounts on technical support services for member businesses hiring people with disabilities. Services include CLT PCD accompaniment, apprenticeship with disabilities, and intern support.
• Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UniRio)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 March 2021Joint initiative for GuiaANCtur project providing Technical Specialization in Cultural and Natural Attractions for Regional Tourism Guides. SER ESPECIAL executes qualification programs for tourism professionals in Southeast Brazil.
• Prefeitura de São Paulo / Secretaria Municipal de Inovação e Tecnologia (SMIT)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2020Term of Collaboration for management of 66 public telecenter units, providing internet access, co-working spaces, and digital inclusion programs for São Paulo residents.
• CITI Diversidade / CitibankcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject Somar - partnership providing Financial Education Course and apprenticeship programs for youth with disabilities, including monitored visits and professional development.
• VigorcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional Capacitation Course for Vigor employees with disability inclusion, and cultural project 'Descobrindo as Histórias de São Paulo' exploring historical and cultural aspects of São Paulo.
• Colégio PaulicíacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerReference partner for methodology development. School serves 620 students with 25% having disabilities, providing the foundation for SER ESPECIAL's monitored inclusion technology.
• InspercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for hiring and training apprentices with intellectual disabilities, providing professional development opportunities within the educational institution.
• Governo do Estado do PiauíminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to establish CCAT (Centro de Capacitação e Aprendizagem) unit in Teresina, extending disability inclusion programs to Northeast Brazil.
• Centro de Capacitação e Aprendizagem Belém (CCAB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for professional training and inclusion of people with disabilities in Belém, São Paulo district. Training programs include: merchandise replacement, production assistant, administrative assistant, and customer service.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Quatá PEO: Brazilian PEO providing co-employment, payroll and benefits administration. Comparable as a PEO operating in Brazil, though broader in scope and for-profit, not specializing in PCD inclusion.
• CIEE (Centro de Integração Empresa-Escola): Brazil's largest youth apprenticeship and internship intermediary. Comparable on the apprenticeship/learning-program side of SER ESPECIAL's offering, but at much larger scale and across all candidate types, not exclusively PCDs.

Others

• Insperity: U.S.-based large PEO providing co-employment, HR administration and benefits to SMBs. Indirect comparable as a large-scale PEO reference point for SER ESPECIAL's bundled HR-adjacent service model.

Direct peers

• AACD (Associação de Assistência à Criança Deficiente): One of Brazil's largest disability-focused non-profits, providing rehabilitation, education, and professional inclusion services. Comparable mission, scale, and OSCIP-style structure, with similar PCD workforce-integration programs.
• Fundação Dorina Nowill: Brazilian non-profit focused on inclusion of people with visual impairments, including employment placement. Comparable as a São Paulo-based inclusion association with structured corporate-employer engagement.
• Instituto Jô Clemente: Brazilian non-profit dedicated to the social inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities, including employment-inclusion programs. Directly comparable as a PCD-inclusion association operating in São Paulo with similar workforce-integration services.

Regional players

• Fundação Sabesp / Programas de Aprendizagem: Several large Brazilian corporate foundations (e.g., Fundação Sabesp, Fundação Bradesco) run their own apprenticeship/inclusion programs for PWDs. They are partial competitors/partners, often sourcing placements from organizations like SER ESPECIAL.

Emerging players

• Instituto de Responsabilidade Social e Sustentabilidade: Brazilian non-profit advancing corporate ESG and inclusion practices. Partial overlap with SER ESPECIAL's workforce-inclusion focus, but with a broader ESG advocacy remit rather than direct placement services.
• Mais Diferenças: Brazilian non-profit focused on inclusive education and socio-professional inclusion of people with disabilities. Comparable methodology-driven approach to inclusion, though more education-weighted in its service mix.
• Afirmativa Soluções: Brazilian consultancy helping companies meet Lei de Cotas requirements and implement inclusion programs. Closely comparable on the corporate compliance and disability-inclusion consulting side of SER ESPECIAL's offering.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/serespecialorg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/serespecial

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SER ESPECIAL