Instituto Apoia

What Instituto Apoia does

Instituto Apoia is a Brazilian nonprofit organization founded in 2016 and headquartered in São Paulo, operating with a small team of approximately 5 employees across the states of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Rio Grande do Sul. Its core function is identifying talented 9th-grade students from low-income public school families (earning up to roughly 5 minimum wages) through a multi-stage selective process — application, profile analysis, transcript review, entrance exam, and interview — and providing them with full private high school scholarships plus ancillary support.

The organization's service portfolio centers on a bundled scholarship package: tuition coverage at partner private secondary schools (Escolas Amigas, 20+ institutions including Colégio Objetivo, Colégio Etapa, and Colégio Morumbi), personalized mentorship, English language courses through partner language schools, school materials and uniforms, transportation, and meal subsidies. A formal Programa Embaixador (Ambassador Program) channels alumni back to their origin public schools to recruit future candidates, creating a self-sustaining community funnel. Donor transparency is delivered via bimestral and trimestral progress reports, videos, and academic performance tracking shared through WhatsApp and email.

The business model relies on a WooCommerce-powered online donation platform with six fixed monthly subscription tiers (R$60, R$125, R$250, R$420, R$560, R$2,035), each tied to a specific cost category such as cultural activities, English transportation, school transportation, meals, or full scholarship maintenance. A secondary revenue stream comprises corporate and institutional partnerships supporting the program. There is no proprietary technology stack, no AI/ML components, and no disclosed revenue or funding rounds; the organization operates with cost discipline typical of small Brazilian nonprofits. Governance is provided by founders including Pedro Henrique Fragoso and Paula Muller Ribeiro Bernini (Founder and Vice President), with Eduardo Neubern as a board member and additional team members in supporting leadership roles.

Name

Instituto Apoia

Legal name

Instituto Apoia

Website

https://institutoapoia.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Instituto Apoia is a São Paulo-based Brazilian nonprofit founded in 2016 that provides full private high school scholarships, mentorship, English courses, and school support to talented low-income 9th-graders across Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Rio Grande do Sul, funded via tiered monthly donations and corporate partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Nonprofit / Youth Scholarship Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (611), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

College Access, Scholarships & Student Success Nonprofits (BPAGADAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Corporate & Employer-Sponsored Scholarships (EDAIAOAI)

Keywords

• Private school scholarships
• Education nonprofit programs
• Youth mentorship services
• Social mobility education
• Donor funded scholarships

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations (Monthly Recurring): Monthly recurring donations from individual supporters at various tier levels (R$60, R$125, R$250, R$420, R$560, R$2,035 per month), each designated for specific costs such as extracurricular activities, English course transportation, school transportation, student meals, and educational materials/uniforms. Donors receive regular updates on student progress through bimestral/trimestral reports, videos, and academic performance tracking.
2. Corporate/Institutional Partnerships: Partnerships with companies that invest in education and support the scholarship program. These partnerships provide financial resources and strategic support for the organization's operations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Instituto Apoia is a Brazilian nonprofit that provides full high school scholarships at private schools of excellence to talented low-income public school students, alongside mentorship, English courses, school supplies, uniforms, transportation, and meals. The organization actively operates in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Rio Grande do Sul, supported by monthly recurring individual donations and corporate partnerships.

Product overview

Instituto Apoia is a nonprofit scholarship organization offering a unified portfolio of educational support services. The core offerings consist of full high school scholarships at private schools of excellence, combined with personalized mentorship, English language courses, and comprehensive school assistance (materials, uniforms, transportation, meals). The organization also operates an Ambassador program where recipients promote education at their origin schools. Supplementary to the scholarship program, the organization maintains an online donation platform with tiered monthly contribution options and provides donors with bimonthly/quarterly progress reports, video updates, and academic performance tracking to demonstrate the impact of their contributions. The program targets public school students from Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Bolsa de Estudos (Full High School Scholarship)
• Mentoria (Mentorship Program)
• Auxílio Escolar (School Assistance)
• Curso de Inglês (English Course Scholarship)
• Programa Embaixador (Ambassador Program)
• Doação Online (Online Donation Subscription)

Quantifiable outcome

• Dezenas de bolsistas assisted with scholarships enabling access to quality education
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 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

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Colégio Objetivo (Unidade Paulista)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner private school where multiple scholarship recipients study, including the Unidade Paulista location specifically mentioned for Nicoly de Paula Silva, Rafaela Carderone, and Paloma Nagano
• Colégio EtapacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner private school where scholarship recipient Wagner de Oliveira Junior studies
• Colegio Artur FerreiraminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrigin school of scholarship recipient Wagner de Oliveira Junior, where he attended before receiving Instituto Apoia scholarship
• OSI (Olímpicos de Santa Isabel)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization founded by Marcos Antônio and administered by Teresinha Pedroso that provides math/science competitions and previously supported Wagner de Oliveira Junior
• Partner English SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner language schools providing English courses to scholarship recipients based on criteria defined by Instituto Apoia
• Universidade de São Paulo (USP)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTop Brazilian university where former scholarship recipients have been admitted
• UNIFESP (Universidade Federal de São Paulo)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal university where former Instituto Apoia scholarship recipients have been admitted
• UNICAMP (Universidade Estadual de Campinas)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerState university where former Instituto Apoia scholarship recipients have been admitted
• UNESP (Universidade Estadual Paulista)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerState university where former Instituto Apoia scholarship recipients have been admitted
• UF-PR (Universidade Federal do Paraná)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal university in Paraná where former scholarship recipients have been admitted
• UFV (Universidade Federal de Viçosa)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal university where former Instituto Apoia scholarship recipients have been admitted
• Colégio MorumbicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner private school where former scholarship recipients have studied

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Fundação Roberto Marinho: Long-established Brazilian foundation operating education and social programs targeting youth and low-income populations. Comparable in educational mission though with broader programmatic scope than Instituto Apoia.
• Fundação Bradesco: Major Brazilian foundation operating its own network of schools serving low-income students across Brazil. Comparable in mission and target demographic, with a much larger operational footprint than Instituto Apoia.
• Fundação Itaú Social: Major Brazilian foundation operating broad social and educational programs. Comparable in being a Brazilian nonprofit investing in education and youth development, though with a wider programmatic scope than Instituto Apoia.

Direct peers

• Instituto Natura: Brazilian education nonprofit focused on educational innovation and youth development. Comparable to Instituto Apoia in operating programs that support students from low-income backgrounds through educational pathways.
• Instituto Ayrton Senna: Long-established Brazilian nonprofit focused on youth education and developing educational solutions for public schools. Comparable to Instituto Apoia in targeting educational outcomes for under-resourced Brazilian youth.
• Instituto Unibanco: Brazilian nonprofit focused on youth education and developing young leaders from public schools. Comparable in mission and target demographic of low-income public school youth in Brazil.
• Associação Nova Escola: Brazilian education-focused nonprofit working to improve public school quality and teacher capacity. Comparable to Instituto Apoia in mission to enhance educational outcomes for low-income Brazilian students, though more focused on system-wide reform.
• Fundação Telefônica Vivo: Brazilian corporate foundation operating educational and youth development programs. Comparable in being a Brazilian nonprofit funding educational initiatives for under-resourced youth with support from corporate partners.
• Fundação Estudar: Brazilian nonprofit that provides scholarships and leadership development programs for talented young Brazilians pursuing higher education. Comparable to Instituto Apoia's scholarship and mentorship model with similar alumni development focus.
• Fundação Lemann: Major Brazilian education nonprofit operating scholarship and educational excellence programs targeting talented low-income youth. Highly comparable to Instituto Apoia's mission of transforming youth through education and supporting high-performing public school students.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/facebook.com.br
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/instituto-apoia

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 Instituto Apoia