German SAP expands one of Latin America’s largest innovation labs in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In the year it celebrates 50 years of innovating in the world and 28 years of strengthening its commitment to developing Latin American companies, the German multinational SAP announced two important investments to promote innovation in the region further.

The first initiative has to do with the third expansion of SAP Labs Latin America, its innovation, research, and development center, which has been in operation for 16 years and is located in the south of Brazil in the São Leopoldo area, in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul state.

With an investment of more than US$36 million, the new unit of this center will add some 850 people to its workforce, bringing the total to 2,000 employees of 20 different nationalities. The expansion will also generate 200 indirect jobs.

SAP Labs is the first and only SAP center in Latin America, one of 14 that the company owns worldwide to support the growing demand from companies for innovative cloud solutions.

SAP Labs develops solutions with high standards to help organizations address key business challenges, from managing sustainability programs, helping them measure the impact of their initiatives, monitoring and managing energy consumption, waste management, producer responsibility policies, and high-capacity cloud management technologies.

“In addition to helping companies in the region on their journey towards digital transformation, another of SAP Labs’ great contributions is that it supports them in the design of their sustainability strategies, working with experts from around the world to create agile and powerful technologies that have the sustainable driver at the center of everything,” said Dennison John, president of SAP Labs Latin America.

The launch of the first SAP.iO Foundry in the region to accelerate startups in all lines of business and industries was also announced. The accelerator will also be based in São Leopoldo, although it will have a virtual presence throughout the region.

SAP.iO Foundries is the company’s global network of external, non-capital-demanding startup accelerators. It provides technical and marketing support to help startups become part of a curated ecosystem: its offerings become easily accessible to SAP customers.

“This launch is a turning point in our commitment to innovation in Latin America,” said Cristina Palmaka, president of SAP Latin America and the Caribbean.

“Around the world, SAP.iO Foundries boost the innovative impact of startups because they offer experience and knowledge and, therefore, multiply their chances of success. In a region like ours, rich in entrepreneurs, this new support will make a huge difference,” he added.

The first SAP.iO Foundry call will be launched in September 2022 and will focus on one of the region’s most booming industries: sustainability in agriculture. Startups that want to apply to the SAP.iO Foundry can do so here until July 22.

Since its launch in 2017, SAP.iO Foundries has contributed to the acceleration of more than 400 startups around the world through its ten funds in strategic cities such as San Francisco, New York, Berlin, Munich, Paris, Tel Aviv, Singapore, Tokyo, Bangalore, Shanghai, and now, São Leopoldo.

With information from Valora Analitik

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