Chicago and Brazil, onetime rivals for the 2016 Olympics, are competing on a different field now: Both are striving to establish internationally recognized tech startup hubs.
In this pursuit, however, the locales see potential economic benefit in cross-border deals: Brazilian startups could find investors and customers here while Chicago tech and medical entrepreneurs could tap into Latin America’s largest economy.
To plant the seeds for such transactions, the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce this week hosted the U.S.-Brazil Business Forum & Cultural Exchange at tech incubator 1871. A key participant was Alexandre do Vale Petry, investment promotion manager for Apex-Brasil, his nation’s federally funded trade promotion agency.
The visit, his first to the Windy City, whetted his appetite for deepening connections here.
But he made it clear that digital Chicago has work to do if it is serious about breaking into the Brazilian market.
“We hear about San Francisco, Denver, Boston, Israel, but we don’t get to hear much about the Chicago area,” he said. His agency chose San Francisco for its beachhead in the U.S., opening a center for startups there last year.
He shared further thoughts on trade potential during an interview, which has been edited for length and clarity.
Q: What are your impressions as a first-time visitor (to 1871)?
A: I’ve been in a few places such as this, in San Francisco, in Brazil, and I have never seen such a busy place as 1871. It’s really impressive. And one thing … I believe is an advantage of Chicago, is that they have an industry base here, so they have potential clients for business startup services and products which are developed here. So it looks very interesting to make this (connection) between Chicago and Brazil.
Q: Historically there have been concerns about protecting intellectual property in Brazil. Is that an issue?
A: I would say that outside Brazil, it’s an issue, but we have a regulator for intellectual property. I will give you an example. We have helped (General Electric) decide to install its fifth worldwide (research and development) center in Brazil. We were competing against many countries. We helped them to get to know how intellectual property works in Brazil, and they felt safe. This was their main issue. Of course, it’s always an evolving scenario, so we can always improve and make things easier for new companies. But it’s our experience that companies feel safe.
Q: The other issue for lot of American companies has to do with protectionist (policies), the import duties. Is that something companies question you about?
A: Usually when they go to Brazil, they establish a presence there to access our market. Once they establish a presence in Brazil, they don’t suffer much with this import issue. In a few cases, there might be some equipment that might have a high tax, but it’s not something that prevents companies from establishing a presence in Brazil. Actually, we don’t (hear) many complaints about this from companies.
Q: There has been news in the past week about Brazil being in technical recession. Does that affect your efforts at Apex-Brasil to extend your reach overseas?
A: In terms of investment attraction, it hasn’t impacted at all. We are now the fifth-biggest worldwide recipient of (foreign direct investment) and we’ve been keeping the same level of invest in last three years, around $65 billion. We expect in 2014 that we should keep same level of investments in Brazil. Although the economy is not growing as it was in the past, still foreign investors see opportunities in Brazil.
Q: What would be the next step with Chicago in terms of furthering your relationship?
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A: Chicago needs to become more known in Brazil. … The first step would be to get known, to go to Brazil to see what is going on there, and to also to present and introduce what’s happening here and what are the opportunities here in Chicago.
Q: If people in Brazil have an image of Chicago, what is it? What do they associate with Chicago?
A: Michael Jordan (laughs). This is all that comes to my mind in the first place. You know, it’s not very known. This is the thing.
Twitter @kathy_bergen