Category: Brazil

How women became the top entrepreneurs in Brazil’s slums

Ana Paula Picasso

In one of my previous posts about the Brazil slums – Favela Rising – I talked about how resourceful someone has to be in the favelas (slums). That is exactly what I meant by the entrepreneurial spirit. But, what does it take for someone to be an entrepreneur in the most deprived parts of the country? According to a study from Data Popular in partnership with CUFA (Central Unica das Favelas), found that 29% of favela residents said the main reason to become an entrepreneur was the possibility to be…

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WhatsApp skewed Brazilian election, proving social media’s danger to democracy

Ana Paula Picasso

Misinformation via social media played a troubling role in boosting far-right Congressman Jair Bolsonaro to into the Brazilian presidency. Bolsonaro did not win 55 percent of votes thanks to misinformation alone. A powerful desire for political change in Brazil after a yearslong corruption scandal and a court decision compelling the jailed front-runner Luis Inacio Lula da Silva to withdraw from the race both opened the door wide for his win. But Bolsonaro’s candidacy benefited from a powerful and coordinated disinformation campaign intended to discredit his rivals, according to the Brazilian…

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Solar Energy in Social Housing, a Discarded Solution in Brazil

Ana Paula Picasso

The social housing complexes of Morada do Salitre and Praia do Rodeadouro (main photo), with solar panels on their rooftops, make up a village of 1,000 families on the outskirts of the city of Juazeiro, in the Brazilian state of Bahia. A solar energy project, which has been suspended, created jobs for local residents to plant trees and clean the streets.  JUAZEIRO, Northeastern Brazil  – “Our main challenge is to get the project back on track,” agreed the administrators of two affordable housing complexes, where a small solar power plant was…

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The Chinese Century: Is China-Brazil relationship a proxy of a new global governance?

Ana Paula Picasso

Nature hates the vacuum, so do superpowers. Therefore, the geopolitical space allowed by the United States is seemingly being filled by China [1]. For instance, the Asian giant became Brazil’s most important trade partner in 2009 and Chinese investment in Brazil began around 2010 [2] as part of a state-led directive to increase China’s food and energy security through overseas acquisitions. Brazil plays an important role locally given the country´s economic weight and regional influence; therefore, a partnership with China changes the regional geopolitical landscape. The increase of interest in…

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Circular economy: How a Brazilian cosmetics company is reviving the Amazon forest

Ana Paula Picasso

Leading Brazilian cosmetics company Natura launched its ‘Amazon Program’ in 2011 aiming at achieving an inclusive business model. The Ekos Ucuuba product line is one example. Combining its bio-intelligence and community knowledge, Natura extracts seed oil from ucuuba trees, which are threatened with extinction, as the core product ingredient. Social Challenges: The increased exploitation of timber and other natural materials in the Amazon Forest over the last 30 years has led this region to face the threat of biodiversity losses which in turn affect greater climate issues. Also, local labours…

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Brazilian e-commerce is booming! Is your online shop ready for “samba”?

Ana Paula Picasso

If you work with international e-commerce, you must have heard that Brazil is the next online powerhouse. The current growth in the number of smartphones has opened up a world of e-possibilities to millions of Brazilians, from all income levels. There are already more than 48 million unique online buyers yearly, which represents a quarter of Brazil’s population. However, there is room for more, and the sector is indeed growing! Although e-commerce in Brazil is still responsible for only 3% of all retail in the country, it is presenting persistent…

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WhatsApp Business: a powerful weapon for startups in emerging markets

Ana Paula Picasso

It seems that all dreams came through for WhatsApp users in emerging markets. WhatsApp Business, a stand-alone app different from the usual WhatsApp, was rolled out in a few countries in February 2018. What was WhatsApp really for? Messaging? Well, people in emerging economies countries – specially small and medium businesses – took WhatsApp one step further. About two years ago I wrote the article – “WhatsApp for business: the secret weapon of Brazil” – telling about how Brazilian businesses are using WhatsApp to build a rapport with their customers…

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Why Brazil’s tourism still is under-performing

Ana Paula Picasso

Brazil is a huge country, one of the biggest of the world. Its seaside measures over 7,400 km and two worldwide famous cities are located there: Rio de Janeiro and Salvador. On the top of that, Brazil recently hosted two of the biggest events in the world: the Football World Cup and the Olympic Games. However even boasting some impressive figures, locations and events, Brazil still receives very few foreigner tourists. According to Brazil’s Ministry of Tourism, this number was 6.6 mi in 2016. Meanwhile, over 80 mi tourists went to France in…

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Forget Black Friday: Emerging Markets eCommerce thrives with other ideas

Ana Paula Picasso

In emerging markets, Black Friday is present in a lesser scale – different countries have bigger and better sales days. Here is a quick round-up. India Black Friday in India is taking its first steps – the main shopping date still is Diwali. However, some eCommerce sites are investing on Black Friday. We can’t talk about Indian eCommerce without mentioning local marketplace site Flipkart. As internet penetration growth accelerates web sales, Flipkart is giving Amazon India a run for its money. Flipkart beat Amazon India in the latest festive season…

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Is It Time for Mobile Payments to Take Off in Brazil?

Ana Paula Picasso

Two years is a long time for technology development. Back in 2015, several home-grown mobile payment apps were taking off. Still, none of the big players was showing a real interest in the country. Fast forward two years and the mobile payments landscape is very different. The major players are betting big on Brazil: Samsung Pay arrived in 2015, and Google Pay was launched in October 2017. Now, Android Pay finally arrived in Brazil too. It operates with near-field communication (NFC) technology, the same way Samsung Pay and Google Pay…

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