As part of the Canadian Digital Media Network’s new Brazil-Canada Bi-Lateral Exchange program, three Brazilian technology companies visited the Communitech Hub in Waterloo Region last month to explore the ecosystem in hopes of expanding into the Canadian market.
The entrepreneurs travelled to Canada following Brazil-Canada Tech Week Sept. 29 to Oct. 3 in Sao Paulo and Porto Alegre, Brazil, which brought Canadian and Brazilian entrepreneurs together to compare business ecosystems, from starting up to finding venture capital and even overcoming failure.
Wallace Santos, co-founder of PSystem, which has expertise in developing and integrating systems, says staying in Brazil is not ideal for growth because his company delivers high-value technology.
“Brazil is traditionally a country that consumes technology” rather than creating it, Santos said, “and we are creating technology. The differences that you have between a country like Canada and a country like Brazil, it’s impossible to compare.”
Santos is staying in Canada until December in hopes of finding investment, which is difficult in Brazil.
“In Brazil you can’t fail. We don’t have VC’s there. It’s very hard to have someone invest in you. If anything is risky they won’t invest in you,” he said.
Santos participated in the program after being introduced to Ricardo Sodré, Partner and CEO of Project-1 in Brazil, who runs the Bi-Lateral Exchange program there. He believes Canada offers one of the most favourable environments in the world for technology companies to thrive and grow.
“The benefits range from access to innovation, skilled workforce in the tech space to a comprehensive program of tax benefits to encourage the development of research and development,” Sodré said. “For companies looking to expand in the North American market, Canada is the best gateway.”
Apdata, a software company offering integrated HR solutions, visited Waterloo Region from Oct. 14 to 17. They chose to explore the region as another place to add to their growing list of locations worldwide, which includes Sao Paulo, London and Florida.
“The reason why we’re attracted to this region is the talent. Our product is constantly being improved, so we need coders and professionals who can think outside the box and make sure the product is always being improved,” said Maricleier Rennie, co-founder of Apdata.
Gaining insight to talent and various programs intended to help technology companies of all sizes succeed is a focus of the Bi-Lateral Exchange program.
“While visiting Waterloo Region, the Brazilian companies will gain insight into accessing to the North American market and evaluate the opportunity to establish themselves here,” said Kevin Tuer, Communitech’s Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, who initiated the exchange program for the CDMN. “They will be able to tap into all the Communitech Hub programming and the larger commercialization ecosystem so that they can execute and validate quickly.”
Alexandre Junqueira is the co-founder Inmetrics, a full service IT company providing strategic planning, valuation, management of processes, people, applications and infrastructure. He participated in the Bi-Lateral Exchange program from Oct. 13 to 24 with the same two goals: to grow the company and understand the ecosystem.
“Here you can find talent, that’s something we’re lacking back in Brazil. You have this whole community that’s willing to make things happen here,” Junqueira said. “So this movement together between the community, the market, the universities and the government all together – that’s something we’re looking for all over the world.”