EN 
PT_BR 
People are made of stories, companies too. Enthusiasm and willingness to enter the world of challenges that entrepreneurship presents, the desire to offer a product or service and test resilience every day.
I consider business as an important driver of the economy, it projects GDP, stimulates social and economic development and offers opportunities for people in the job market.
The challenges of being an entrepreneur in Brazil are no different for the 19.7 million active companies according to 2020 data from Mapa de Empresas, linked to the Ministry of Economy.
It's no different with us. Renovigi was created in 2012 by a group of businesspeople who decided to combine their stories and take a look at renewables. At first, we didn't know exactly whether solar, wind or biomass.
The first step was the idea, the second, the creation of FCTER (Scientific and Technological Foundation in Renewable Energies) which celebrates this date with us and deserves to have its efforts recognized.
We were born in Chapecó (SC) at a time when solar energy was practically non-existent – not long ago, less than a decade. A little later, in 2013, ABSOLAR (Brazilian Association of Photovoltaic Solar Energy) emerged, which would represent the sector and further stimulate its development.
We follow each step of the business directing energy and believing, in a trajectory of respect, integrity and hard work, intrinsic characteristics of entrepreneurs Carlos Tadashi Akimoto, Érico Tormem, Nelson Akimoto, Lenoir Carminatti, Marcisio Marzari, Thiago Dávi and I, who write to you.
The first photovoltaic systems were purchased by the partners, family and friends themselves, and as is normal for entrepreneurs, the first years were and continue to be challenging.
In 2015 it was a special moment and stimulated our growth even further, we reached the first 5 million in revenue, a network of partners engaged with love and enchanted by the brand and the purpose of our company.
We felt that solar could offer even more. We grew in the following years (2016, 2017) and in 2018 we reached R$ with 147 million revenues and collaborated with more than 16% in the total number of photovoltaic systems sold in Brazil, which generated the need to expand our business. We opened a manufacturing unit in Valinhos (SP) which was later transferred to Louveira (SP).
In 2019 the sector achieved record growth and so did Renovigi. Revenue of 500 million, more than 10 thousand systems and an increasingly present social commitment.
We launched the Energia do Bem project, which has social concerns as its pillar, through the donation of photovoltaic systems to non-profit entities throughout Brazil. We have already totaled 144 systems donated and installed with the support of our network of accredited companies.
The years 2020 and 2021 were important along with changes in governance and a professionalization of management in the company increasingly focused on new projects. I consider it important to highlight the challenges of this journey.
Behind a celebration are many choices and stories of overcoming, especially in the position of entrepreneur where external factors, unexpected situations, interference from the economy, difficulty in logistical processes, high tax burden and other obstacles, can lead to a discouraging scenario, however, Every effort is worth it and the celebration belongs to all of us.
When I look at Renovigi in its recently completed nine years, I feel deeply happy, it was born small but ingenious, with singularities, but a clear vision of the future: to be a reference in a sector that is extremely open and is on its way to dominating the world energy scene.
I am completely sure that this feeling is shared by the partners who see it growing with moral values, integrity, with the support of good people of whom we are proud and, mainly, in the essence of renewal, as in Esperanto, Renovare, definition of Renew.
Long live the solar segment and our apple of the eye.
