Selling smarts: Brazil's information technology business should have gone global years ago. It's catching up

Latin Trade, Oct, 2004 by Paulo Prada

The toughest part, though, will be getting people outside Brazil to believe in the country's technology. Because early efforts to sell software abroad failed, observers say, many within the sector itself are wary of Brazil's ability to market itself. "A lot of companies are skeptical" says Wladinir Borgonnvi, vice president of the Sao Paulo Society of Computer and Telecommunications Users. "The whole sector needs to learn how to sell the country and show not only that we're competent, but a competitive alternative to other markets."

There are certainly those who believe it. Eccelera, the Sao Paulo venture capital firm, has invested $20 million in 11 projects in Brazil and in neighboring countries. With deep pockets--it's backed by Venezuelan media giant Cisneros Group--it plans to invest up to $80 million more. "We're trying to find the companies that should be global but aren't," says Leite. "Sometime soon the world is going to find out about the potential in Brazil and we want to get in before that happens."

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