Category: Technology

Brazilian startups in Asia: first step towards a potential partnership

Sapiens Global teams from Brazil and Japan are engaged in an action to bring Brazilian startups to Asia or, in the other way, helping investors from Japan and Southeast Asia to find projects to have a close look in Brazil.

This first step was taken in a conference call with Mr. Kival Weber, a well-known person in private and public sector as a visionary in software development and Software Quality Models. The virtual meeting was conducted at the end of September 2020, when the world is still living the COVID-19 Pandemia and experiencing uncertainties in various business sectors.

3C3C – Three Cities, Three Continents

A new platform for cultural interchange and innovation in trade was created by Sapiens Global, connecting the cities of Barcelos (Portugal), Dongguan (China) and Maringá (Brazil). A Chinese mission with 15 people met 15 Portuguese and 5 Brazilian entrepreneurs in Barcelos. From June 10th to 12th, the government representatives of the three cities and the entrepreneurs discussed trading, tourism and technology development. About 16 business opportunities are under development by Sapiens Global, along with DYEA (Dongguan Young Entrepreneurs Association), ACIB (Associação Comercial e Industrial de Barcelos) and CODESUL (Agência de Integração e Desenvolvimento do Sul do Brasil).

Sapiens Global meets “The DOT way of doing EdTech”

The DOT Group, a Brazilian corporation created in 1996 believes there are no limits of time or space for education or qualification of people. As the world is becoming more and more connected with telecom and all the technologies we have access nowadays, we met Mr. Luiz Alberto Ferla, CEO and Mr. Mario Hirose, Sales Director, to learn more about the expansion plans of DOT Group in Asia.

Mario Hirose and Luiz Fernando Ferla with Douglas Baquetti at The Embassy of Brazil

The meeting was organized by SECOM, the Trade Sector at the Embassy of Brazil in Singapore and, representing Sapiens Global, our Head of Business Development (Sapiens Global Malaysia), Mr. Douglas Baquetti.

The Collaborative Economy: getting around, staying cool, eating well and making money

The Collaborative Economy is the way to enable consumers to bypass the traditional market, transacting directly with suppliers that, in a final definition, are normal consumers, too. To achieve that, web platforms and mobile applications are the bridge to connect the two ends.

Also known as Peer-to-Peer Movement or Sharing Economy, the Collaborative Economy is defined by the Altimeter Group, cited by Frederic Gonzalo, as “an economic model where ownership and access are shared between corporations, start-ups and people. This results in market efficiencies that bear new products, services and business growth.”
Rachel Botsman says that “Sharing Economy is an economic model based on sharing underutilized assets from spaces to skills to stuff for monetary or non-monetary benefits.”

When it comes to Tourism, we can see that internet and mobility has changed drastically the sector operations, opening new opportunities for entrepreneurs all around the world.
Startups are benefiting from the way millennials are driving and leading the fast growing segment in the hospitality industry. By 2025, millennials will answer for 50% of all travelers. Tourism business will not be the same and sharing economy players are expected to change the way to do business.
In the recent years, a large number of startups came to the arena with impressive numbers in the Collaborative Economy. If we divide Sharing Economy and Tourism in four major areas, some of the players became well known companies in just a few years, like Uber and AirBnB.
According to eMarketer.com, Latin American clients are in the top of world users in terms of Sharing Economy, booking rooms and apartments using a Home & Lodging rental services by internet. It is expected to be the top market for AirBnB. Brazil has 50% of South American population and 50% of GDP. It is a market to be explored by startups on this field.
Recently, Rio de Janeiro hosted the Summer Olympics, with five other cities additionally receiving the football matches under the Games. It was a major event for the collaborative economy, with an extraordinary number of conversions in Brazil, with new hosts in many different cities.

As the economies in Latin America are facing difficulties, it is clear that new concepts of products and services through the apps platforms may boost what was known as the “informal economy”, with the high capillarity of smartphones and internet, paving the way for bringing in new players to the environment.