IT Sector 

  • Brazil has a rapidly growing IT sector.
  • Brazil has developed an innovation ecosystem in aerospace with the growth of Embraer and its existing space program, but also with a focus on defense. There are approximately 350 aerospace companies in Brazil, of which 150 aerospace are concentrated in Sao Jose dos Campus, a municipality approximately 50 miles from Sao Paulo.
  • The emergence of offshore oil and gas created potential opportunities for marine science and technology companies and institutions in Massachusetts, such as the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Last March WHOI team located the wreckage of Air France Flight 447, which crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on June 1, 2009 on its way from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. In February of this year, the Woods Hole Group, an engineering consulting organization headquartered in Falmouth, opened its fifth office in Brazil. The office is located in a suburb of Rio de Janeiro. 
  • President Dilma Rousseff has made innovation a centerpiece of the country’s new industrial policy. As part of a Plan of Action on Science, Technology, and Innovation 2011-2014, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation increased the resources of Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos (Research and Projects Financing), by 50%.
  • IBM has an Innovation Center in Sao Paulo and last year announced an expansion of its research and development presence in Brazil.
  • Endeavor is one of the largest entrepreneurship promotion ventures in the developing world, and Brazil is a showcase example of its operations. The main office, founded in 2000, is in Sao Paulo, with a branch office in Rio de Janeiro since 2005.

Life Sciences Sector 

  • The Brazilian life sciences industry generated an estimated $400 million (US) in revenues and $55.5 million (US) in profits in 2008.
  • There are more than 250 life sciences companies in Brazil, Many of them early-stage companies that are growing rapidly.  80 new companies were created in the last five years.
  • The total number of employees in life science companies in Brazil is estimated at 6,000, out of which 45.8% are involved in R&D activities.  
  • 1,250 products are under R&D and 610 are awaiting approval by regulatory agencies.
  • The government plays an important role in supporting R&D inside those companies, being responsible for 64.1% of the total amount of US$ 95.8 million invested in 2008.
  • Partnerships with universities and public institutes are also central to the innovation strategy of most companies -- 73% of Brazilian life science enterprises reported interacting with a university or research center.

Clean Energy Sector 

  • Brazil is a global leader in the area of bioenergy, including both biofuels and biomass. It is ranked 6th in the world for clean energy investment with $7.6 billion invested in 2010.
  • The main focus of clean energy in Brazil has been on biofuels (40 percent) and wind energy (31 percent), and the solar sector is also growing with the majority of venture investment in clean energy in being in solar in 2010.
  • National clean energy policies include a renewable energy standard, clean energy tax incentives, auto efficiency standards, and feed in tariffs.