By Richard Mann, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The overall quantity of Brazilian startups is good, but the quality and number of unicorns could be better, considering Brazil has a population of over 200 Million, says the StartupBlink Startup Ecosystem Rankings Report 2019.
City Ranking within Brazil:
- São Paulo, +8 ranks (global rank 23)
- Rio de Janeiro, +108 ranks (global rank 64)
- Belo Horizonte, +104 ranks (global rank 70)
- Curitiba, +41 ranks (global rank 160)
- Porto Alegre, +313 ranks (global rank 172)
The business environment needs improvement, and it seems like the new government is much friendlier towards business and entrepreneurship; it is left to be seen if the government can skillfully execute a plan to decrease red tape and empower entrepreneurs.
Just like Argentina, high-interest rates and a lack of investment capital are not helpful in motivating more people to become entrepreneurs or keep their startups in the country as they scale.
Brazil is fortunate enough to have three cities in the top 100 club: São Paulo at 23rd, followed by Rio de Janeiro at 64th and Belo Horizonte at 70th.
Startup Ecosystem says they have noticed an increase in 22 out of 24 ranked Brazilian cities, and the country now has ten cities in the top 500 list.
They conclude, that with this amount of ecosystem growth it is easy to be optimistic about Brazil’s future.