Brazil wants to attract technology companies from Japan and Singapore

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The ScaleUp in Brazil program of the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil) receives registrations until June this year from Japanese and Singaporean companies that want to open a business in the country.

The idea is to attract high-tech companies interested in scaling up the sale of their products or solutions. According to the agency, the dimensions and potential of Brazil’s consumer market are an attraction for foreign entrepreneurs.

“The goal is not that they come to export their products and services here for the Brazilian market to acquire. The objective is that they come to settle here,” points out Helena Bonna Brandão, Coordinator of Investments at ApexBrasil. She explains that the search is for small countries known as Startup Nations and that are ranked in the Global Innovation Index.

It is the third edition of the program. According to ApexBrasil, the initiative has already brought US$9.9 million of investments from Israeli companies. Among them is AgroScout, which provides drone monitoring services for producers and companies dedicated to plantation protection. ScaleUp in Brazil is done in partnership with the Brazilian Association of Private Equity and Venture Capital (ABVCAP) and Israel Trade & Investment Brazil (IT&I).

In the first phase, those selected will have a broad view of the Brazilian market, such as regulations for starting a business, banking system, and other information. The next step is a face-to-face immersion cycle in Brazil, followed by a period of adjustment and restructuring. The entire process lasts 18 months and also includes meetings and rounds of negotiations with potential clients and investors. The participants also receive consulting services on product, service, or solution adaptations.

“It is an acceleration program. Once it is installed here in the country, it will bring innovation, filling a gap in the needs of the Brazilian technology chain. It will generate new jobs and bring new business opportunities; it will also generate income and tax collection for the government since it is a new company. So it becomes a Brazilian company. That is the program’s goal,” points out the coordinator of ApexBrasil.

Helena points out that this ambiance and support to the foreign entrepreneur is fundamental. “Brazil is a huge market, a vast country, with specificities that do not exist in other countries. For example, the Brazilian tax system itself is very complex. There are municipal, federal, and state taxes; taxes applied to services and products; it is very complicated for a foreigner who wants to open a company here in Brazil,” she adds.

The program’s first year worked as a pilot with five Israeli companies. The second edition was online due to the covid-19 pandemic, and ten companies participated. In the third edition, the idea is to attend 20 companies. “We make a rigorous selection. The company must be interested in internationalizing here in the country,” says Brandão.

With information from Agência Brasil