186. Brazil is pleased to join as a co-sponsor of document IP/C/W/679, which proposes a timely information exchange on ways to improve IP-intensive enterprises' access to funding. We see this discussion paper very much connected to the previous agenda item and somewhat a continuation of the topic of MSMEs and IP. It goes without saying that access to funding is the enabling condition for companies to be able to develop and bring their ideas to the market.
187. For small entrepreneurs, which most of the times have little marketing expertise, receiving targeted assistance to find financing options might be crucial for the success of their businesses. In order to create an innovation prone environment, governments may play a role in providing assistance to new businesses in that realm. Another promising path related to IP funding is the dissemination of IP marketplaces. Governments may also help here, by not only promoting these marketplaces, through organizing IP business rounds, for example, but also creating programmes and sectoral studies to facilitate the matchmaking. Brazil's IP Office is undergoing a profound transformation to go beyond the registration office paradigm and provide right holders with a diverse array of IP services.
188. The "INPI Negócios" programme (INPI Business, in English) has financing strategies for IP as one of its main pillars. The current President of the INPI, Dr. Cláudio Furtado, is an economist with a history of working in the segment of financing start-ups. In his speeches, Dr. Furtado always highlights the positive role that IP offices, when registering property rights over intangible assets, can play in promoting investments in innovation. We are looking forward to hearing other Members' experiences in this issue.
