emerging markets Archives | Page 2 of 7

Why Brazil’s tourism still is under-performing

December 18, 2017October 11, 2018 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…

This Is How China Is Feeding Itself

December 11, 2017October 11, 2018 Ana Paula Picasso

While there is much ado about China’s not-so-subtle efforts in the South China Sea to expand its borders, and to attain a level of influence that extends far beyond its own shores, the emerging superpower’s international strategy goes well beyond military objectives. China’s population may not be growing at a huge clip, but its rising middle class is responsible for an uptick in consumption habits as protein gobbles up a larger share of the country’s diet. While this may not seem so ominous, there are reasons for seeing it as…

Forget Black Friday: Emerging Markets eCommerce thrives with other ideas

November 23, 2017November 22, 2018 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…

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

November 16, 2017October 11, 2018 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…

Emerging Markets Have a Lot to Teach Us About Entrepreneurship

November 1, 2017October 11, 2018 Ana Paula Picasso

Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg are legendary American entrepreneurs. These giants’ success stories might make it seem as if the United States owns the market when it comes to the secrets of commercial success. I would argue the opposite is true: Developing nations and emerging markets have important entrepreneurship lessons to teach more affluent counties. Programs within Chile, India and Brazil, for example, have encouraged economic growth and entrepreneurship. These same efforts and principles could be applied to advance the United States even further. Government initiatives Government initiatives in emerging markets have played…

Brazil: car sales are going digital

October 17, 2017October 11, 2018 Ana Paula Picasso

Vehicle purchasing in Brazil is one-third more likely to start in the digital media realm today compared to just one year ago. Those wanting to sell their cars are replacing offline media advertising with online and digital media budgets to accompany the changing behavior of consumers, something that has caught the attention of those in the digital marketing and social media industries. “Currently, 80% of vehicle purchasing in Brazil starts in the digital realm, in one form or another, compared to 62% last year,” local news portal Automotive Business quoted…

China is investing big in Brazil but not how you’d imagined

September 28, 2017October 11, 2018 Ana Paula Picasso

Brazil and China are the world’s foremost emerging markets. Brazil’s political turmoil and the economic downturn in the last to years didn’t seem to change China’s will to invest into the largest South American economy. China’s investments varies from region to region. In on of my previous posts I mentioned how China is investing in Africa, not only in infrastructure projects e.g. building highways in Tanzania and electricity projects in Sub-Saharan Africa, but also financing the first African metro system in Addis Abba in Ethiopia. With Brazil there is a…

Social Gaming: How China became the games industry of the world

July 21, 2017October 11, 2018 Ana Paula Picasso

It was recently announced that the games company Zynga, most famous for Farmville, has donated an undisclosed amount to the University of Southern California (USC) so that courses in social mobile gaming can be developed. The university gets to access best practice from leading industry practitioners and companies like Zynga can influence how students learn about producing better social mobile games. This is an interesting move from a company that is already known for their innovation in social mobile gaming. But it may also be a wise long-term move as…

Banking the unbanked in emerging markets

July 10, 2017October 11, 2018 Ana Paula Picasso

As countries progress, citizens migrate from remote villages to large cities and foreign countries. Their economic power rises and they participate in the global economy. People need to purchase food, pay electricity bills, top up transportation cards, arrange online services, buy overseas goods, repay loans, and send money to relatives. Unlike the U.S., however, where 93% of peoplehave banking options, many in developing markets do not. Globally, an estimated 2 billion adults lack access to formal financial services. The services that are available are typically cumbersome and expensive. To address this gap, fintech startups…

Netflix vs Amazon Prime Video: Who’s winning in emerging markets?

July 3, 2017October 11, 2018 Ana Paula Picasso

As internet penetration is growing exponentially in some emerging economies, particularly Brazil and India, the two biggest video streaming services Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are going all in. Amazon Leading the Way, Netflix Trailing Behind Amazon came to India in 2013 and has already caught up with India’s biggest eCommerce site Flipkart in only 3 years. The numbers were impressive, from 2015 to 2016 Amazon grew its business 120%. In December 2016, Amazon launched its Prime Video service there. The price was an important factor in attracting new subscribers: charging only $15 per…