» Purposes

To help improve the quality of teaching at higher education institutions.


» Clients

Commercial or non-profit public and private Higher Education Institutions (IES), including charity institutions classified under the Brazilian Classification of Economic Activities (CNAE), issued by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), in section P, division 85, that meet the following requirements.


» Requirements

 Support project in accordance with the BNDES’ standards and an operational optimization project for financial reorganization to ensure the institution’s financial sustainability; 

 Institutional project approved by the Brazilian Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC), in keeping with the Institutional Development Plan (PDI) and other IES data informed in the process of accreditation or reaccreditation at MEC; 

 Enrollment in the most recent selection process in the Fund to Finance Higher Education Students (FIES) in effect as of the date the project is submitted to the Ministry of Education (specific for private IESs);

 Enrollment in the Program University for All (ProUni) throughout the term of the loan (specific for private IESs); 

 Performance of higher education institutions in assessments conducted in the Brazilian System of Higher Education Assessment (SINAES), considering the following criteria:

a. At least 70% of undergraduate courses awarded course grades equal to or higher than 3 in all courses assessed, according to the results obtained in the most recent assessments available at the time the project was submitted to MEC. In the absence of a course grade, a Preliminary Course Grade (CPC) must be used. This preliminary grade is instituted by MEC’s Normative Order Nº. 4/2008, and, in the absence of the latter, institutions must used the grade attained in the Brazilian Examination of Students’ Performance (ENADE), in accordance with Law Nº. 10,861/2004.

b. IES’ Institutional Grade must be equal to or higher than 3. In the absence of the institutional grade, the grade awarded by the General Index of Undergraduate Courses (IGC) should apply, which is instituted by MEC’s Normative Order Nº 12/2008, following the same criteria.
c. At least 60% of the courses offered must be duly accredited by MEC or by the relevant state authority.

 Without no effect on the requirements stated herein, MEC will assess academic plans submitted by the IESs, as the case may be, considering the number of professors with doctoral degrees, the amount of full-time professors, organization of permanent research centers and development of continuing education activities, as well as additional measures deemed appropriate. 


» Types of  Financial  Support

Automatic indirect and non-automatic.


» Items to be financed 

The project presented should always include items that make it possible to reach goals established in educational quality indicators:

 Civil works; 

 New machinery and equipment, manufactured in Brazil, accredited by the BNDES; 

 Purchase of Brazilian and foreign books, printed or not, for libraries belonging to the IES requesting financial support.

Books to be purchased should by approved by the Institution’s Higher Council, before submitting the project to MEC. The list of these books should be attached to the document issued by MEC, substantiating the institution’s qualification. The purchase of imported books will only be permitted in non-automatic indirect support.

 Import of new equipment which is not manufactured in Brazil, abiding by the following: 

1. The list of machinery and equipment to be imported will be analyzed by both MEC’s Evaluation Committee in terms of relevance to the proposal in the IES’s institutional project, and the BNDES, aimed at proving there is no similar equipment/machinery made in Brazil at the time the project is analyzed;

2. The amount lent to each project should not exceed US$ 3 million.

 Expenses with importing equipment, provided that these do not require remittance of foreign currency, even if the import is not financed by the BNDES; 

 Expenses with managerial qualification and training to improve administrative and financial management;

 Purchase of didactic software applications developed in Brazil, aimed at improving administrative and financial management, registered in the Program PROSOFT – Commercialization; 

 Organizational studies, including the preparation or redefinition of working routines; 

 Fixed investments in the qualification and modernization of undergraduate courses offered by the IES; 

 Fixed investments in the qualification and modernization of courses or Masters’ and doctoral programs offered by the IES. Only those courses recommended or recognized by the federal agency Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Capes), as verified by MEC and duly informed in the document supporting the qualification; 

 Fixed investments earmarked for qualification of professors; 

 Associated working capital, limited to 40% of the eligible fixed investment; and 

 IES’s financial reorganization, upon submission of the operational optimization project to ensure the institution’s financial sustainability. 


» Interest rate

Financial Cost + BNDES Basic Spread + Financial Intermediation Rate + Accredited Financial Institution Spread


» Financial Cost

 Import of equipment and purchase of imported books: basket of currencies or IPCA. 

 Other items: Long-term interest rate - TJLP. 

For loans to IES controlled by foreign investors: basket of currencies.


» BNDES Basic Spread

 Import of equipment and purchase of imported books: 2.5% p.a.; 

 IES’s associated working capital and financial reorganization: 4.0% p.a.; 

 Other items: 0.9% p.a.; 


» Financial Intermediation Rate

0.5% p.a.

Note: Transactions with micro, small and medium-sized companies are exempt from the Financial Intermediation Rate.

» Accredited Financial Institution Spread

Negotiated between the client and the accredited financial institution.


» Term of Loan

 Financial reorganization: 72 months or less, including a 12-month grace period; 

 Other items: 120 months or less, including a 24-month grace period.

» Maximum Participation of the BNDES

 Import of equipment and purchase of imported books: 60% of the price of the good to be purchased (FOB). 

 Associated working capital: 100%; 

 Financial reorganization of IES: 100% of debts to suppliers and banks; 

 Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSME) and Public IESs: 100%, except for purchase of imported items and financial reorganization; 
Other cases: 60%. 

 Other cases: The maximum participation of the BNDES is 60%; however, this may be increased by 20 percentage points. The Financial Cost of the credit portion deriving from this increased participation will be TJ-462 plus a Basic Spread of 2.50% p.a. If the operation is direct or non-automatic indirect, the Financial Cost of this additional portion may be BASKET OF CURRENCY plus Basic Spread of 2.50% p.a. 

Increased participation through the Regional Streamlining Program (PDR) does not apply.

Investments made in the 6th month preceding the approval of the project up to the 10th month before the request is filed at the BNDES will only be considered for the purposes of calculating the consideration to be disbursed.



» Guarantees and Collaterals 

Negotiated between the accredited financial institution and the client.

See: Guarantees and Collaterals 


» Expiration Date

Until August 05, 2014, respecting the budgetary limit.




» Additional Conditions

The institutional project to be presented by the IES should be aligned with the guidelines and measures presented in the accreditation and reaccreditation process approved by MEC. 

The accredited financial institution should include, in the loan agreement, a clause stating the early expiration of the contract, with the enforceability of the debt and immediate cancellation of any reimbursement, in the event that the IES withdraws from the Program University for All (ProUni). 

Educational Quality Improvement Indicators

» Criteria to define the indicators

The educational quality improvement indicators will be based on the IES’ performance, as follows: 

 Percentage of professors with Master’s and doctoral degrees; 

 Percentage of full-time professors.

» Performance Target

 For each of the indicators above, the academic plan will set the target to be achieved and the relevant deadline. 

Verification that the performance target in the educational quality improvement indicators was achieved. 

 The educational quality improvement indicators and their performance targets established by MEC should be included in the loan agreement to be signed by the IES and the accredited financial institution; 

 After having duly verified that the performance targets in the educational quality improvement indicators have been reached, MEC will submit a written notice to the IES, the accredited financial institution and the BNDES; 

 Failure to reach the performance target in the educational quality improvement indicators will not result in early expiration of the operation, nor the application of any penalties to the client. 

» Application

The IES should submit an academic project to MEC, in accordance with to the instructions provided by MEC’s Secretariat for Higher Education.

Submission of applications through an Accredited Financial Institution to the BNDES should be preceded by MEC’s approval.

For automatic indirect operations, forward the request directly to the accredited financial institution.

In the case of non-automatic indirect support, the interested company should prepare its request for support, accompanied by an Inquiry Letter duly filled out in accordance with the Information Guide for Previous Inquiry and send it via the client’s preferred accredited financial institution to:

Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social - BNDES
Área de Planejamento - AP
Departamento de Prioridades - DEPRI
Av. República do Chile, 100 - Protocolo - Térreo
20031-917 - Rio de Janeiro - RJ