Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa e à Extensão

What Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa e à Extensão does

FAPEX (Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa e à Extensão) is a Brazilian private non-profit foundation headquartered in Salvador, Bahia, founded on November 13, 1980, by UFBA professors in collaboration with Bahian business groups. The foundation provides administrative and financial management services for research, teaching, extension, and innovation projects executed by Federal Higher Education Institutions (IFES) and Scientific and Technological Institutions (ICTs). FAPEX does not fund projects directly; instead, it manages external resources captured from funders, charging management fees on project execution volumes covering procurement, human resources, contracting, scholarships, accounting, and financial reporting. It currently supports 10 institutions including UFBA, UFRB, UFSB, UFOB, IFBA, UNILAB, UNIVASF, IFS, UFSJ, and EBSERH/HU Brasil, and operates under joint credentialing from MEC and MCTI plus CNPq accreditation valid through March 2027.

FAPEX's core technology stack centers on the SAPRO (Sistema de Acompanhamento de Projetos) management system integrated with a suite of stakeholder-specific web portals: Portal do Coordenador (for project coordinators), Portal RH (for HR/payroll), Portal da Transparência (CGU-compliant transparency), Portal de Licitação (procurement), Portal do Financiador (for funders), and Portal do Fornecedor (for suppliers). Additional tools include a document validator and a net-salary calculator for service providers. The platform architecture follows a portal-per-stakeholder model with the SAPRO backbone handling document upload, real-time project tracking, and integration with transparency disclosure systems. Compliance features include LGPD adherence, LAI (Lei de Acesso à Informação) compliance, and WCAG/e-MAG accessibility standards, with VLibras integration for Brazilian Sign Language translation.

The business model is a managed-services and professional-services fee structure on externally funded project portfolios, not traditional SaaS or product licensing. FAPEX generates revenue from administrative and financial project management fees and scholarship administration, with pricing varying by project scope and institutional agreement rather than published rate cards. Go-to-market is exclusively institutional: outreach is handled by the Gerência de Projetos (GEPRO), with new partnerships requiring formal letters from Rector's offices and joint MEC/MCTI authorization. Distribution leverage comes from FAPEX Director Antônio Fernando de Souza Queiroz's role as President of CONFIES (Conselho Nacional das Fundações de Apoio), which provides national visibility across Brazil's network of support foundations.

Name

Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa e à Extensão

Legal name

Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa e à Extensão

Website

https://fapex.org.br

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

FAPEX is a Brazilian non-profit foundation, founded in 1980 and headquartered in Salvador, Bahia, that provides administrative and financial project management services to 10 federal higher education and scientific institutions including UFBA, supported by MEC/MCTI credentialing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Research Project Administration Services

NAICS

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (54)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

General Ledger & Close (Journal Entries, Month-End Close, Reconciliations) (BPAAAGAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Accounts Payable (Invoice Processing, 2/3-Way Match, Vendor Payments) (BPAAAGAA), Order-to-Cash (O2C) Operations (Order Admin, Credit, Invoicing, Collections Handoff) (BPAAAGAK), Tax Operations Support (Indirect Tax, Withholding, Compliance Admin) (BPAAAGAI)

Keywords

• Research project administration
• Grant management services
• Academic financial management
• Federal university support
• Procurement and HR administration

Headquarters

HQ city

Salvador

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Administrative and Financial Project Management Fees: FAPEX generates revenue through the management of administrative and financial resources for research, teaching, extension, and innovation projects from supported institutions. The foundation charges management fees for services including project elaboration, execution management, procurement, human resources management, financial services, accounting, and financial reporting. FAPEX does not fund projects directly; it only manages resources captured from funders for project execution.
2. Scholarship Administration: The foundation administers scholarships for teaching, research, extension, and innovation as outlined in project work plans, providing scholarships to technical students, undergraduate and graduate students, and servers linked to institutional projects.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

FAPEX provides administrative and financial management of research, teaching, extension, and innovation projects executed by Federal Higher Education Institutions (IFES) and Scientific and Technological Institutions (ICTs). Services cover project elaboration, procurement, human resources, payroll, scholarship administration, accounting, and accountability reporting, with operation supported by an ecosystem of web portals (SAPRO, Portal do Coordenador, Portal RH, Portal da Transparência, Portal de Licitação, and stakeholder portals) used to monitor and execute projects under MEC/MCTI authorization.

Product overview

FAPEX (Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa e à Extensão) is a non-profit private foundation that serves as a support organization for Federal Institutions of Higher Education (IFES) and Scientific and Technological Institutions (ICTs). Rather than offering a unified software product, FAPEX provides a portfolio of administrative and financial project management services supplemented by a suite of web portals and management systems. The core offering consists of project management services (gestão de projetos) including project elaboration, execution management, and financial accountability. This is supported by an ecosystem of web portals: the Portal do Coordenador for researchers, Portal RH for human resources, Portal da Transparência for transparency compliance, Portal de Licitação for procurement, Portal do Financiador and Portal do Fornecedor for stakeholders, and the SAPRO (Sistema de Acompanhamento de Projetos) for project tracking. Additional tools include a Document Validator and a Service Calculation tool. FAPEX manages projects across multiple federal and state universities in Bahia and other regions of Brazil, primarily focused on research, teaching, extension, and innovation activities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Gestão Administrativa e Financeira de Projetos (Administrative and Financial Project Management) End-to-end administrative and financial management of research, teaching, extension, and innovation projects for Brazilian Federal Higher Education Institutions (IFES) and Scientific and Technological Institutions (ICTs). Includes project elaboration, execution management, procurement, HR, accounting, scholarship administration, and accountability reporting.
• Portal do Coordenador Web portal serving as the primary interface for project coordinators to submit demands electronically and monitor project information in real time for projects executed by FAPEX.
• Portal RH (Recursos Humanos) Human resources portal that enables external access for collaborators and service providers to view payslips, income statements for tax declarations, INSS declarations, and point records in real time.
• Portal da Transparência Public transparency portal integrated with the SAPRO project tracking system, providing agility in digitization, document upload, and public disclosure of project and financial information in compliance with Brazilian transparency laws (LAI and LGPD) and CGU standards.
• Portal de Licitação Procurement portal that allows users to monitor the progress of all bidding processes promoted by FAPEX, including direct contracting, bid exemptions, contract terminations, imports, inexigibility, and public selection (electronic and in-person).
• SAPRO (Sistema de Acompanhamento de Projetos) Proprietary integrated project tracking system enabling real-time monitoring of project execution, document upload, and financial tracking for both internal and external stakeholders, with integration to the Portal da Transparência.
• Bolsa e Administração de Bolsas (Scholarship Administration) Administration of scholarships for teaching, research, extension, and innovation as outlined in project work plans, providing scholarships to technical students, undergraduate and graduate students, and servers linked to institutional projects.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 40 years of institutional experience managing projects for multiple federal universities and research institutions
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 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

Integration1 record

Feature5 records

Partnerships

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

• Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUFBA is the primary institutional partner of FAPEX, being the founding institution from which FAPEX originated in 1980. FAPEX manages research, teaching, extension, and innovation projects for UFBA. The partnership spans over 50 years of collaboration. FAPEX is headquartered at UFBA's campus in Ondina, Salvador.
• Universidade Federal do Recôncavo da Bahia (UFRB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUFRB is a federal university supported by FAPEX, with multiple active projects including MAIS GESTÃO Bahia, agricultural development programs, UAB distance learning courses, and various research initiatives. Located in Cruz das Almas with campuses in multiple cities.
• Universidade Federal do Sul da Bahia (UFSB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUFSB is a federal university supported by FAPEX, located in the southern and extreme southern regions of Bahia. Structured with 3 campuses: Jorge Amado, Sosígenes Costa, and Paulo Freire.
• Universidade Federal do Oeste da Bahia (UFOB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUFOB is a public federal university headquartered in Barreiras, Bahia, supported by FAPEX for project management services.
• Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia da Bahia (IFBA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIFBA is a Federal Institute of Education created through transformation of CEFET/BA under Federal Law 11.892. FAPEX supports multiple projects including the Nubank Partnership Program with UFBA.
• Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco (UNIVASF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNIVASF was created in 2002 through Law 10.473, headquartered in Petrolina, Pernambuco. FAPEX provides administrative and financial management for university projects.
• Universidade da Integração Internacional da Lusofonia Afro-Brasileira (UNILAB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNILAB is an autarchy linked to Brazil's Ministry of Education, headquartered in Redenção, Ceará. FAPEX manages research and extension projects for the institution.
• Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia de Sergipe (IFS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIFS is a Federal Institute in Sergipe supported by FAPEX for project management services.
• Empresa Brasileira de Serviços Hospitalares (EBSERH)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEBSERH (HU Brasil) was created by Law 12.550 of December 15, 2011, as a public hospital services company. FAPEX provides project management support for hospital-related research and educational initiatives.
• Universidade Federal de São João del-Rei (UFSJ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUFSJ is a federal university with educational units in Ouro Branco, Divinópolis, and Sete Lagoas in Minas Gerais, supported by FAPEX.
• Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCNPq is a federal agency of the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovations and Communications responsible for fostering scientific and technological research and encouraging the formation of Brazilian researchers. FAPEX holds a credentialing certificate with CNPq (valid until 14/03/2027) and manages CNPq-funded projects.
• Conselho Nacional das Fundações de Apoio (CONFIES)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCONFIES is the National Council of Support Foundations for Higher Education and Scientific Research Institutions. FAPEX's Director (Antonio Fernando Queiroz) serves as President of CONFIES, providing strategic influence in national science and technology policy. FAPEX regularly collaborates with other member foundations including FUNDEP, FIOTEC, COPPETEC, FAGEP, and FUNAPE.
• Fundação de Estudos Agrários Luiz de Queiroz (FEALQ)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFEALQ from Piracicaba conducted an institutional visit to FAPEX in May 2026 to exchange experiences and strengthen inter-foundation dialogue regarding project management areas.
• Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa e Extensão de Sergipe (FAPESE)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFAPESE from Sergipe conducted institutional visits to FAPEX in March 2026 to exchange experiences in project management. The visit included technical meetings and sharing of tools and processes used in research monitoring.
• Fundação de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (FADE)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFADE visited FAPEX in March 2026 to strengthen partnerships, improve project management practices, and share best practices between foundations.
• Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa (FUNAPE)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFUNAPE from Goiás, whose Executive Director (Sandramara Matias) serves as Vice-President of CONFIES, visited FAPEX in January 2026 to strengthen institutional partnerships and align collaboration strategies.
• Fundação Norte-Rio-Grandense de Pesquisa e Cultura (FUNPEC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFUNPEC's President (Aldo Dantas) visited FAPEX in November 2025 to strengthen partnerships and discuss strategic matters related to support foundations. Professor Aldo serves as Director of the Northeast Region in CONFIES.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Fundação Coordenação de Projetos, Pesquisas e Estudos Tecnológicos (COPPETEC): COPPETEC is the support foundation linked to COPPE/UFRJ, providing identical financial and administrative management services for research projects. It is a CONFIES member peer with comparable scale, multi-institutional reach, and similar portal-based digital infrastructure for project tracking.
• Fundação de Apoio à Educação, Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (FAPEU): FAPEU is a Brazilian support foundation serving federal universities with credenciamento MEC/MCTI and operating in the same research administration services category as FAPEX, including financial management, procurement, HR, and transparency portal infrastructure.
• Fundação Norte-Rio-Grandense de Pesquisa e Cultura (FUNPEC): FUNPEC is the support foundation of UFRN, providing identical administrative and financial research project management services. Its President (Aldo Dantas) also serves as CONFIES Northeast Regional Director, confirming both direct service-line comparability and shared national governance involvement.
• Fundação para o Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico em Saúde (FIOTEC): FIOTEC is the support foundation of Fiocruz, specializing in health and biomedical research project administration. It is a CONFIES member offering the same credenciamento-based financial and administrative outsourcing services, with parallel portal infrastructure for project and financial management.
• Fundação de Estudos Agrários Luiz de Queiroz (FEALQ): FEALQ is the support foundation of ESALQ/USP, focused on agricultural research project administration. It conducted an institutional visit to FAPEX in May 2026 for inter-foundation experience exchange, confirming direct peer status in the same credenciamento framework.
• Fundação de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (FADE-UFPE): FADE is the support foundation of UFPE, delivering identical research project administration services. FADE conducted institutional visits to FAPEX in March 2026 to exchange best practices, confirming it as a structural direct peer in the same MEC/MCTI credentialing ecosystem.
• Fundação de Desenvolvimento da Pesquisa (FUNDEP): FUNDEP is the support foundation of the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), providing identical administrative and financial project management services for research, teaching, and extension projects. It is one of the largest support foundations in Brazil and a direct structural peer in the same regulatory framework (credenciamento MEC/MCTI).
• Fundação de Apoio à Gestão, Extensão, Pesquisa e Extensão (FAGEP): FAGEP is a Brazilian support foundation providing credenciamento-based administrative and financial management of research projects. It is referenced as a CONFIES member peer working in the same regulatory and operational framework as FAPEX.
• Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa (FUNAPE): FUNAPE is the support foundation of the Universidade Federal de Goiás (UFG), providing the same administrative and financial project management services. Its Executive Director (Sandramara Matias) serves as CONFIES Vice-President, making FUNAPE a direct peer in both service model and national coordination.
• Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa e Extensão de Sergipe (FAPESE): FAPESE is the support foundation of the Federal University of Sergipe (UFS), operating in the same credenciamento framework. FAPESE visited FAPEX in March 2026 specifically to share project management tools and processes, confirming it as a direct comparable in service offering and scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/FAPEX
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fapexoficial

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa e à Extensão