“Nowadays, most people depend on their mobile devices and insufficient battery charge could cause major losses. After going through many unpleasant situations, we had the idea to format a project to offer portable devices capable of recharging a phone in a short period and anywhere.”
Promoting entrepreneurship and innovation
The Energy2Go startup arose in the first cycle of the Inspire Entrepreneurs programme. In the initiative, created by Enel Brasil in 2015, company employees can exercise their creative capability by proposing innovative solutions for common everyday challenges. The suggestions go before a jury and the selected ideas receive advice from a startup accelerator as well as a financial contribution to bring their project to life. In addition to these benefits, Victor highlights the possibility of taking a sabbatical of up to 18 months as essential to Energy2Go’s success:
“One of the first things we did was to put a backpack on and visit bus stations and large circulation stops to lend and rent batteries. This experience was very important for us to understand the demand for our service. This wouldn’t have been possible if Enel didn’t offer us the chance to dedicate ourselves full-time to our idea.”
From intern to entrepreneur
Victor’s story with Enel began in 2003, when he was selected as an intern. In a short time, he was hired and got his first job. Today, 15 years later, having gone through several of the company’s departments, he is resigning from the firm to invest exclusively in Energy2Go. Enel will continue to be one of the main investors in the project and the plans for the startup’s spin-off are very promising:
“We currently have 290 registered users, but our vision is to become the largest global player in portable energy! Until March, with Enel’s financial support, we will install over 25 self-service machines. Our projection is, within 18 months, to open 200 new spots and add 140,000 users. To reach this goal, we will hire at least another 4 engineers and technicians.”
Get your portable battery now!
If you’re always on the move and the last thing you want is to have a dead smartphone, download the Energy2Go app (available on Android and IOS) or visit www.energy2go.com.br. The project’s self-service machines are currently spread around bus stations, companies and commercial establishments in Rio de Janeiro and Niterói.
