Lisbon — Technology as a source of transformation of society is a one-way movement. Even if some resist surrendering to the innovations that reach the most common tasks of everyday life and revolutionize the functioning of companies and governments, the digital world expands at an impressive speed. The simple act of buying clothes or shoes, and even decisions that involve billions of reais, no longer involve the use of tools that we are used to. Now, the metaverse, the internet of things (IoT) and artificial intelligence rule the cards, to a greater or lesser extent, given the level of digitization of the economy and society. And Brazil is heading towards the top of this new reality.
“There is no way to dissociate technology from the environment”, says Viviane Martins, CEO of Grupo Falconi and Falconi Consultores, with operations in 40 countries. “To innovate is to mitigate risks. It is a win-win game”, he believes. For her, although companies still have a lot to advance technologically, Brazil has enormous competitive advantages in the environmental issue, starting with the energy matrix, which is mostly renewable. The executive recalls that, in the industry, there are sectors that saw the environmental issue as a way to make their operations more sustainable. In addition to reducing water consumption, they began to produce the energy they consume, including using the garbage that pollutes cities as an input.
“All this change was possible thanks to the new technologies available”, he adds. Over the last week, this new world opened up at the Web Summit in Lisbon, one of the biggest technology events in the world. More than 70,000 people — a record — from 160 countries came together to present products and solutions and discuss trends for the coming years and decades. For all that has been seen, those who do not embark on this new wave will be halfway there. This applies, above all, to countries that are still reluctant to admit the speed with which climate change is transforming the lives of millions of citizens for the worse. Innovations should indeed be used to make life easier for people, companies and governments, however, they have become essential to contain the destruction of the planet and guarantee the future of the next generations.
In Viviane's assessment, it is important to make it clear that, in the case of companies, resorting to innovations brought by technology does not mean guaranteed success, as it is necessary that new techniques add value to the business. “Innovation is different from invention. It's not just buying new technology. There are paths to be followed so that the projects do not result in frustration”, he emphasizes. All assessment steps must be completed for the necessary adjustments to occur. “There are many pitfalls in the processes. Therefore, there are metrics and goals to monitor the reach of the tools used and adapt them, if necessary”, he explains. Another important point: “There are several realities within Brazil, and what applies to large companies does not apply to smaller companies”.
banking
President of Cateno, the company that processes Banco do Brasil's Ourocard credit card operations, Luíz Felipe Monteiro says that, regardless of the pace of absorption of new technologies, the innovation process is irreversible. “At the speed with which the world walks, the metaverse, the web 3 (the new version of the internet), there is no way to survive without innovation. It is these trends that will define the structure and the future of how our society will relate, whether from an economic point of view, or in the way of consuming”, he emphasizes. This new reality, he adds, requires everyone to be connected to the ecosystems that have been dedicated to digital transformations.
In the field in which Cateno operates, the technological revolution has arrived in earnest. “The future of means of payment will be digital, instantaneous and low cost”, he points out. An example of this is Pix, which allowed millions of Brazilians to enter the formal financial system. Monteiro also highlights the advance of digital consumption. “E-commerce has been growing at rates of between 30% and 35% a year. And the digital payment market points to an annual jump between 25% and 30%. It is the portrait of the digitization of money. People no longer want to use paper money”, he emphasizes. “We are experiencing accelerated banking in Brazil, thanks mainly to fintechs and neobanks. The future of our business is digital.”
The new world applies to the government, says Monteiro, one of the creators of gov.br, a portal and application that allows access to public services digitally. “More than 130 million Brazilians use gov.br every month. The system made it possible to reduce bureaucracy and waiting time in queues”, he points out. He adds that, during the covid-19 pandemic, when government service units were closed, all services continued to be provided online, in order to favor the population, especially the most needy. “Governments will be fully digital institutions, invisible in everyday life, but always supporting citizens, with privacy”, he reinforces.
“A recent study by the World Bank (Bird) shows that Brazil has the seventh most mature digital government in the world”, says the president of Cateno. “We are on the same level as South Korea, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Estonia”, he adds. He believes that, regardless of the government on duty, the digitization of the public machine — this goes for states and municipalities — will continue at full speed, because it is good for everyone. “The built work has reached a point of no return”, he emphasizes.
transit around the world
Technology is not only changing the way we consume, it is also breaking down barriers for citizens to move around the world. Thiago Huver, partner and lawyer at Martins Castro, has just launched Mobi, an application that allows Brazilians who wish to obtain Portuguese citizenship to streamline the processes, anticipating any problems. “The system allows the search for information available at the Ministry of Justice of Portugal, helps to solve pending issues and facilitates access to necessary data for those who want to live in the European country”, he details. It also assists in the revalidation of diplomas, one of the biggest obstacles for Brazilian professionals to work in the Portuguese market.
“We use public information which, many times, is not given due transparency. And our app filters everything 24 hours a day, explains what needs to be done, making the solution time for residency and citizenship processes in Portugal shorter”, says Huver. He also guarantees that the application is free and can be used by companies that hire labor abroad, especially in the area of information technology. “The management of these professionals takes time and often follows very different legislation. Through the application, the control is easier and less costly”, he guarantees.
It is with eyes turned to the outside that the Export Promotion Agency (Apex) took 70 startups to the Web Summit, almost five times more than the previous year (15). “Brazilian startups want to go international, and the world is interested in these companies from Brazil”, says Clarissa Furtado, manager of Competitiveness at the agency. She remembers that this market is in effervescence. So much so that the country now has 30 unicorns, startups valued at more than R$ 1 billion. “Ten years ago, there weren't any,” he says. In addition, more than 800 innovation hubs are in operation, with representatives from the main sectors of the economy, with emphasis on health, education, retail, agro and finance.
In Clarissa's assessment, the biggest obstacles for startups and other companies to go international are fear and lack of knowledge. As a result, many settle down, taking advantage of the huge Brazilian market. “Our work is precisely to provide instruments so that entrepreneurs can take strategic steps, and this involves good information on the markets they want to operate in”, says the executive. She points out that the fact that Brazilian entrepreneurs are seen as reliable and that they offer innovative products counts in favor of startups. “There is also the issue of sustainability. Topics such as water and energy have aroused growing interest among foreign investors,” he adds.
support networks
Digital Transformation Manager at the Brazilian Agency for Industrial Development (ABDI), Adryelle Fontes says that there is still a lot of work to be done among micro and small companies in order to digitize them. “Many of these firms don't know what to do with available technologies. So, we try to help them in this process, so that they are not left behind, without competitiveness”, he says. Within this strategy, ABDI launched a program that has already qualified more than 400 companies and the results are impressive, with an increase in revenue and employability.
ABDI's goal is to expand the digitization program to 20,000 companies by the end of 2023. For Andrea Macera, advisor to the agency's presidency, this increase is fundamental, as not even half of the country's small-sized firms use technology at its own pace. please, according to a survey carried out by the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV). “It may seem like a cliché, but many of these companies need to go through a change of mindset, they have to understand that they need to put customers at the center of decisions, understand what they want. This goes through the digitization of business”, he emphasizes.
Transforming people and fostering entrepreneurship are missions strictly followed by Cubo, an ecosystem that has more than 400 startups, operating in around 20 market segments. “Support is fundamental, without it it is difficult to scale the business”, emphasizes Mirella Lisboa, head of Corporate and Partnerships at the hub which is led by Itaú. All benefited projects, however, must be focused on the technological area. “Our goal is to provide all the support for good business to take off. This involves funding, accelerators, law firms, consultancies looking at the foundations of different startups. We know that costs have a relevant weight in this process”, he adds.
In 2021 alone, Cubo community startups received over R$ 3 billion in investments. The result of this partnership can be measured by business revenues, which reached R$ 2.5 billion, with more than 7 thousand jobs generated. “There were cases in which startups' revenues increased three times between 2020 and 2021”, stresses Mirella, noting that the ecosystem has more than 30 strategic partners and more than 60 corporations active in the community.
Just as the results achieved are expressive, the requirements to participate in the Cubo are strict. First, the moment of the startup is evaluated, if there is someone who has already shown that the developed technology is necessary. Then, how mature the enterprise is is analyzed. The profile of the founders of the startup is also included in the account and if any of them have a history in the market. Another key point is whether the structure is favorable to receiving investments. Finally, the reason why you want to participate in Cubo. “Every year, Members are evaluated,” explains Mirella.
better services
Head of the Metaverse area at startup R2U, Valéria Carrete emphasizes that those who want to be part of the changing world need to be connected with the advances brought about by technology. “It is not impossible, but it is very difficult today to live without innovation”, he says. “We, as consumers, want more convenience, better services, buy whenever we want. And everything demands technology”, he reinforces. These desires pass, today, through augmented reality (3D) and through the metaverse.
The executive recognizes, however, that Brazilian retail is still behind what is already seen in the world in relation to these innovations. “What happens in the world always has a delay in Brazil. Now, in 2022, we are seeing what happened in 2016. Brazilian businessmen, as far as we know, are more conservative when it comes to investment. They always expect a little more, but miss opportunities in sales and customer engagement”, he points out.
Gradually, however, relevant steps are taken. For Valéria, Brazilian retailers are moving away from a model focused on competitive prices, in which technology is not one of the pillars, to build superapps. “It doesn't have to be as technological as possible, but innovation is part of our lives as consumers and as professionals”, he says. She also believes that the world will see more and more people using technology to be more relieved of their work and able to dedicate themselves more to what really matters, knowledge, study and socialization.
By Vicente Nunes