AEP – Portuguese Business Association , a national and multi sector business association that was founded in 1849 and is based in Porto, Portugal, organised recently the “Next Challenge: Asia Seminar”, offering an opportunity for its associated companies to get to know more about three of the Asian markets: China, Japan and South Korea.
Category: China
Dongguan Sister City Link 2021
Investment & Trade Promotion Webinar
Sapiens Global was proud to support Dongguan Sister City Link 2021, an event connecting eight cities in six countries, three continents. The event, last July 30, 2021, presented more than 70 people attending the Investment & Trade Promotion Webinar. Sapiens Global was represented by its CEO Helio Galvão Ciffoni and Jocemar Medeiros, Director for New Business Promotion (Latin America).
Among the cities, two of them were invited and promoted by Sapiens Global: Maringá (Brazil) and Barcelos (Portugal). ACIM – Associação Comercial e Empresarial de Maringá and ACIB – Associação Comercial e Industrial de Barcelos promoted some of their most important local companies. Sapiens Global would like to thank the fabulous efforts of Marcos Cordiolli, Secretary of Economic Development and Innovation from Maringá, Helmer Romero, Director of Tourism at the City of Maringá and Mayor Ulisses Maia, who presented us with a valuable vision of the City and the planning for the years to come. Maringá, along with Barcelos and Dongguan, are part of the 3C3C Alliance, a platform developed by Sapiens Global to develop business and cultural interchange, among the 3C3C – Three Cities, Three Continents.
Sapiens Global and COVID-19
It was the first week of February, 2020, when Sapiens Global team received a demand from our partners in China, seeking for help on finding masks and other devices for hospitals. At that time, the Chinese industry was closed temporarily, in order to better understand and contains the virus spreading. It was a localised situation in China, with some spots in South Korea and in Japan. The world didn’t expected what was coming a few weeks later.
Our team in Brazil contacted local factories and distributers and we could help our partners in China, Singapore and Japan to import protection masks. Weeks later, Europe was in the middle of the Corona Virus situation and very soon it was decreed as a pandemia by the World Health Organization. Soon our efforts were back to China, sourcing for protective devices to send to Portugal and then, to Brazil. The market was uncontrolled: prices rising overnight, devices disappearing from distributors.
Government officials from Brazil and Portugal asked for help but it was not so much for us to do. Digging deeply in China, we came across new factories and exporters, creating new channels for Brazilian, Portuguese, Singaporean, Japanese and many others to find suppliers for their necessity.
Our team is now with 70% of its capacity dedicated to help buyers and sellers, using all our strength and experience in Business Matchmaking, playing in the fields of logistics, financial and mainly as a trade facilitator to accelerate the process to move the essencial merchandise across continents, helping to avoid abusive trade behaviour and malpractice in business.
Thanks to our business partners around the world and to our dedicated team, we are joining efforts to surpass this situation very soon.
The pictures show the first cargo from Brazil to China, a total of 16,500 masks and the arrival of 165,000 masks in Singapore. 
Sapiens Global and opportunities under the 3C3C Project for FACIAP, Parana State Federation of Chambers of Commerce
The 3C3C Project – Three Cities, Three Continents, created and managed by Sapiens Global is a platform to integrate chambers of commerce, governmental agencies and entrepreneurs, defined in groups of three cities in three different continents.
Last September, Mr. Helio Ciffoni, Sapiens Global’s CEO payed a visit to Mr. Marco Tadeu Barbosa, President of FACIAP at his office in Curitiba, Brazil. Along with Mr. Ciffoni, the Secretary Executive of CODESUL, Mr. Wilson Quinteiro, gave his testimony about the 3C3C Seminar attended by him and also explained the expected opportunities for the companies from Parana State.