Archive for 2010
Innovation in Brazil
BRAZIL
www.oecd.org/dataoecd/30/61/46663708.pdf
Brazil’s economy is characterised by large and well-developed agricultural, mining, manufacturing and services sectors. Its USD 2 trillion economy is expanding rapidly into world markets, and is also changing structurally. Over the decade to 2008, high-technology manufacturing exports increased at an average annual 16%, faster than total manufacturing exports (13%), a sign of higher competitiveness.
Brazil’s science and technology profile shows weaknesses, but some areas have improved over the past two years. In 2008, gross expenditure on R&D (GERD) was 1.1% of GDP. While this is below the OECD average, it is higher than in India, Russia and South Africa. Business expenditure on R&D (BERD) was 0.5% of GDP in 2008. To raise this, Brazil has a generous 25.5% tax subsidy rate for every US dollar of R&D.
Emerging economies produce few patents relative to R&D, as illustrated by Brazil’s 0.3 triadic patents per million population in 2008. However, Brazil is increasingly involved in patent development in waste management, water pollution control and renewable energy. In 2008 it published 26 806 scientific articles; at 141 per million population, this indicator is well below the OECD average but has increased sharply over the past two years.
In 2008, it had 1.6% of world scientific articles, more than the Netherlands, for example. Between 1998 and 2008, publications increased by 12.2% on an average annual basis. Only 3.6% of Brazil’s firms introduced new-to-market product innovations during 2003-05, and a below average 36% of firms undertook non-technological innovation.
www.oecd.org/dataoecd/30/61/46663708.pdf
Brazil’s economy is characterised by large and well-developed agricultural, mining, manufacturing and services sectors. Its USD 2 trillion economy is expanding rapidly into world markets, and is also changing structurally. Over the decade to 2008, high-technology manufacturing exports increased at an average annual 16%, faster than total manufacturing exports (13%), a sign of higher competitiveness.
Brazil’s science and technology profile shows weaknesses, but some areas have improved over the past two years. In 2008, gross expenditure on R&D (GERD) was 1.1% of GDP. While this is below the OECD average, it is higher than in India, Russia and South Africa. Business expenditure on R&D (BERD) was 0.5% of GDP in 2008. To raise this, Brazil has a generous 25.5% tax subsidy rate for every US dollar of R&D.
Emerging economies produce few patents relative to R&D, as illustrated by Brazil’s 0.3 triadic patents per million population in 2008. However, Brazil is increasingly involved in patent development in waste management, water pollution control and renewable energy. In 2008 it published 26 806 scientific articles; at 141 per million population, this indicator is well below the OECD average but has increased sharply over the past two years.
In 2008, it had 1.6% of world scientific articles, more than the Netherlands, for example. Between 1998 and 2008, publications increased by 12.2% on an average annual basis. Only 3.6% of Brazil’s firms introduced new-to-market product innovations during 2003-05, and a below average 36% of firms undertook non-technological innovation.
Guarana Jesus
DESIGN STRATEGY
DESIGN Alexandre Coreixas, Caroline Rosa, Christiano Chamusca, Daylton Almeida, Fabiana Brito, Hugo Bomfim, Hugo da Silva Souza, Leandro Pierucci, Leonardo Lanzetta, Márcia Tabajara, Mário Mendonça, Roberta Loyola, Rodrigo Rabello, Sônia Carolina Batista e Vanessa Freire | Dia Comunicação | Rio de Janeiro – RJ
CLIENT Recofarma | Brasília – DF
REVAMPING OF THE GUARANA JESUS SOFT DRINK BRAND, which is an icon in the northeastern Brazilian state of Maranhão. The new can design was chosen through internet voting and SMS messages. The company’s brandbook containing two volumes complemented the branding package. MATERIALS: Brandbook: MDF wood case with four-color and varnish silk screen printing imitating Maranhão- style tiles. Inside the case, ceramic gift tokens, book covers made from buriti wine palm and wrapped with bone lace•
Brazil is Latin technological innovation leader
The country accounted for 60% of research and development investment among Latin American and Caribbean countries. It is also the region's only nation to allocate over 1% of its GDP to innovation.
Agência Brasil
Brasília – Recent Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) data show that Brazil accounted for 60% of investment in research and development among Latin American and Caribbean countries in 2007. It is the only country in the region that sets aside more than 1% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to innovation.
According to the IBD, one of Brazil's strong points are its mechanisms for fostering technological research. As in its neighbouring countries, however, red tape and lack of coordination between the government and businessmen hamper the growth of Brazilian innovation, preventing the country from climbing up the global ranking.
"Brazil probably has more tools for encouraging innovation than any other country in Latin America. When I went to different states and spoke with businessmen, I would always hear complaints that they [mechanisms] require too much red tape, are slow and there is not enough information about them," said Flora Painter, head of the IBD's Science and Technology Division.
The bank's representative attended a seminar on regional innovation systems held yesterday (14th) in Brasília, sponsored by the National Confederation of Industries (CNI), the Brazilian Industrial Development Agency (ABDI) and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation.
One of the government mechanisms for encouraging business innovation is subvention – funds disbursed by the Studies and Projects Funding Body (Finep), of the Ministry of Science and Technology, by means of edicts. According to the ministry, over 1.7 billion Brazilian reals (US$ 995 million) have been disbursed since 2006. Companies, however, complain that the disbursing of funds via edicts are not compatible with the pace of industrial production.
Another issue detected by the bank is that businessmen do not point out how support mechanisms could meet their demands. "Businessmen do not possess the required knowledge to express what their needs are and to devise projects."
According to the bank's survey, the private sector's share of total funds for innovation in Latin America and the Caribbean is small. Whereas in Brazil and other Latin American and Caribbean countries, 60% of the funds are provided by the government, in the member countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the rate is 36%.
To Flora Painter, the lower inflow of funds from Brazilian companies may have to do with legal and economic insecurities. "For any given company, investment must take place in a comfortable, stable environment. Brazil made progress with regard to economic and political stability. The country, however, has major problems with regard to providing financing to companies at reasonable interest rates," she explained.
The CNI's director of operations, Rafael Lucchesi, shares the same opinion. According to him, multinational companies, for instance, fear investing in Brazil and later having to pay a high volume of taxes as a result.
During the seminar, diagnoses on business innovation in four states were presented (Alagoas, Paraíba, Santa Catarina and Minas Gerais). The survey pointed out some of the problems that companies have when trying to innovate: accumulated demand for financing, lack of knowledge of technological services and no communication between universities and entrepreneurs.
Beco do Vieira
ENVIRONMENTS
DESIGN Quadrante Design | São Luís – MA
CLIENT Vale | Rio de Janeiro – RJ
THIS SPACE WAS SET UP TO VALE AT THE 3rd São Luis Book Fair in the Brazilian northeastern state of Maranhão, and is a tribute to the state’s late composer and singer, Antônio Vieira. Died April, 88, Antonio Vieira had his complete works launched by Vale, with the Association for Support of Music and the Art of Maranhão (Amarte). The project launched in 2003, brought together seventeen CDs, a CD compilation with promotional purpose, the book 'Life and Work, "with a biography of Vieira, the book' Music and Lyrics," with a compilation of all the songs, and video interviews with local artists talking about the importance of the work and the making of the production design. The initiative not only put Vieira in the mainstream media, but also scaled up its work by distributing the kit design for museums and educational institutions. The design portrayed a newsstand owned by Vieira at Praia Grande, the local beach where the singer grew up. MATERIALS: Steel structure, polystyrene plate siding, digitally printed adhesive, MDF wood display modules and acrylic domes. BOOTH AREA: Width: 8.20 m. Height: 3.20 m•
iRadar Brazil
iPhone brazilian users are very concerned about the possibility of being fined. That is what the ranking of paid apps downloaded on the App Store Brazil says, the iPhone and iPod touch software store from Apple.
Top of the list is the iRadar Brazil 2.0 application, which costs $ 1.99 and shows in the smartphone screen the location of the of radars around the streets of Brazilian cities. Upon reaching the radar (the distance you set in preferences), it emits a warning sound or vibration. To do this, use the GPS feature and the triangulation of cellular antennas.
Developed by Studio6 (Campinas/SP) the program uses the GPS iPhones 3G/3GS, cellular phone antennas and bases Wi-Fi to determine its location, and thereafter shows a list or map radar (fixed and / or phones), cameras, electronic speed bumps, road police and / or traffic lights next. In the preferences you turn on or off whatever you want.
The application, currently in its version 2.0, has had its release 3.0 submitted to Apple for approval. With it, besides having access to more than 8 thousand radars, cameras and electronic speed bumps, you can enter new radars. The 3.0 also fixes a bug that turned off the music (if the User is using the iPod) when radar is detected.
Studio6
Rua Antonio Galizia, 181, cj. 62, Cambuí
13024-510, Campinas, SP
Tel.: +55 19 3294-7228
Brazilian Development Bank’s fund to invest in technology
Emerging companies in the biotechnology and nanotechnology sectors are going to receive a boost. The creation of a venture capital fund has been passed by the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES). According to the BNDES, the two sectors have been selected in keeping with the institution’s strategy of supporting technological innovation in the country’s industrial matrix, as a means of guaranteeing the competitiveness of Brazilian companies.
The bank will participate by means of its subsidiary BNDES Participações (BNDESPAR), and will own up to 25% of the fund’s committed equity.
The venture capital fund will be established under the BNDES’ Investment Funds Program, launched in July last year. In the first phase, in August 2008, the program selected three private equity funds: BB Brasil Agronegócio, FIP Terra Viva and CRP VII.
According to the BNDES, the investment targets for the second and third phases are being selected. The bank intends to choose funds linked to assets in forestry and oil and gas. The BNDES currently takes part in 31 investment funds, with committed equity of approximately 8 billion Brazilian reals (US$ 4.4 billion).
IBM Bets on Brazilian Innovation
Over the last few years, China and India have emerged as the twin hot spots of emerging tech innovation. Now IBM (IBM) is betting that one of the next big technology stars will be Brazil.
In the latest sign of Brazil's rising power, Big Blue is announcing on Aug. 18 a new initiative to stimulate the development of the country's technology sector. To kick off the effort, IBM is hosting its first-ever forum for venture capitalists and entrepreneurs in São Paulo along with FINEP, the Brazilian government agency that finances technology development. The daylong event will bring together more than 100 investors and dozens of new companies looking for investment and business advice.
IBM is also launching a Portuguese version of its developerWorks Web site, which provides free programs and online teaching guides that help programmers build skills in the Java programming language, the Linux operating system, and IBM products such as Lotus. To host the event, IBM has dispatched Claudia Fan Munce, managing director of IBM Venture Capital Group, and Steve Mills, senior vice-president and group executive of IBM's $20 billion Software Group, a clear sign of the growing importance of Brazil to the IBM portfolio.
"We have been watching Brazil for a while," says Munce, who grew up in Brazil. "The time is right."
EYEING OPPORTUNITY
In the past, Brazil has been hobbled by hyperinflation, rampant political corruption, and failed fiscal and monetary policies. But with a growing and stable economy in recent years, multinational corporations such as IBM and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and venture capital and private equity players now see additional opportunity for technology innovation in the sun-drenched nation. "That potential is there," says Mills. "The university systems are strong. There is a level of interest in entrepreneurship that is growing."
Investors increasingly see Brazil as an attractive destination. As of the end of 2008 nearly 150 local and foreign investment firms had committed $28 billion in venture and private equity capital to Brazilian companies, according to the Brazilian Association for Private Equity & Venture Capital. That's up from $6 billion in 2004, amounting to a hearty 50% compound annual growth rate over the last four years. Investors have financed 500 Brazilian companies to date with venture or private equity capital, and there's $12 billion left to invest over the next few years from that $28 billion kitty.
Still, the country's business challenges, including high taxes and restrictive labor laws, could hamper growth. And native businesspeople say a Silicon Valley-like ecosystem where risk and creative thinking in technology are the norm remains elusive. "We do not have an ecosystem in place," says Berthier Ribiero-Neto, head of Google's (GOOG) Latin American research and development center, which is based in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. "Most of the students go to work for the outsourcing companies. I would like to see more product development."
The IBM initiative is designed to help remedy some of those issues. The idea is to serve as a matchmaker and coach to the growing number of companies IBM works with in Brazil. In fact, IBM's Munce says that among the so-called BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China), Brazil is seeing the highest growth in business partners that IBM works with, averaging 150% year over year.
TAPPING INTO BRAZIL
To help its partners raise money, IBM will introduce them to dozens of local and foreign private investors at the forum, including Intel Capital, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Rio Bravo, and Darby Overseas Investments. And to design, build, and market new technologies for their businesses, IBM will invite its several thousand Brazilian business partners to visit its Innovation Center in São Paulo, which opened in February. At the center, entrepreneurs can gain access to training courses, consulting services, and technical seminars. "The center will help us tap into this huge growth market," says Munce.
Humberto Matsuda, founding partner with Performa Investimentos, a new Brazilian venture capital firm, says the IBM forum is a significant event for his country. "We are very excited to see how IBM will become a player in this industry," says Matsuda, who is closing an $8 million fund, with 40% of its capital coming from FINEP. "It is a very significant event, given the size of the players."
Matsuda, who helped IBM draw up a list of companies to invite to the forum, says startups have been hobbled in the recent past by a lack of capital and experienced entrepreneurs. But he says the IBM event is important because it will help foster more investment, training, and networking in the technology community. "They will make introductions to potential clients and offer training and services," says Matsuda. "You have to use a key player like IBM to teach companies."
IC01 CHAIR
DESIGN André Lobo, Indio da Costa, Felipe Rangel | Indio da Costa Design | Rio de Janeiro – RJ
CLIENT Pnaples | Rio de Janeiro – RJ
THIS INNOVATIVE RENDITION OF A BAR CHAIR IS MADE FROM high-resistance recycled raw materials – discarded electronic products – and boasts a long life cycle. The IC01 ECO is manufactured from a single mold. It provides an alternative for the plastic furniture sector where there is an abundance of low cost and low quality products with doubtful design and very short useful life. The chair was conceived with a focus on features such as geometry, harmony and consistency. Its minimalist and timeless package was designed with the retailer in mind and consists of a recycled cardboard box that can fit five stacked chairs. MATERIALS: Recycled ABS. PRODUCT DIMENSIONS: Height: 572 mm. Width: 768 mm. Length: 484 mm. Weight: 3. 5 kg. PRICE: R$ 212. 00•
