IBM has outlined a series of initiatives to help boost innovation with venture capitalists in Brazil in support of demand for digital infrastructure projects in telecommunications, heal
IBM has outlined a series of initiatives to help boost innovation with venture capitalists in Brazil in support of demand for digital infrastructure projects in telecommunications, healthcare and energy industries.
IBM and Finep – the Brazilian Innovation Finance Agency – are collaborating to fuel new ecosystems by helping to establish new relationships between IBM business partners and venture capital firms.
IBM partners will be given the opportunity to present live demonstrations of business plans and technology concepts at the IBM Venture Capital Forum in Sao Paulo, and hear from venture capital experts on key technology trends and investment opportunities they are exploring.
The Brazilian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association and Endeavor (the Organization for Entrepreneurship Support in Brazil) are also collaborating with IBM on the forum.
IBM is bringing together venture capital firms including DFJ FIR Capital and Rio Bravo, local IBM business partners and universities to fuel new ecosystems around key technology trends in the region.
"Initiatives like this one from IBM are valuable because it helps foster technological development in Brazil," says Renato Marques, new business development manager at Finep. "By working with IBM, Brazilian startups will be better prepared to scale their businesses and position themselves to attract venture funding."
The forum, hosted at the Sao Paulo IBM Innovation Center, comes at a time when venture capital and technology investments in Brazil are on the rise. According to ABVCAP, investors committed USD28bn in venture and private equity capital at the end of 2008, up from USD6bn in 2004.
"We are always looking to expand our ecosystem of portfolio companies," says Marcus Regueira, founder and partner in Brazil’s DFJ FIR Capital firm. "Businesses that are already in partnership with IBM bring credibility to the business plans and can result in interesting opportunities."
"Developing relationships with start-ups and IT professionals in Brazil is critical to the growth of IBM’s ecosystem," adds Claudia Fan Munce, vice president of corporate strategy and managing director of IBM’s venture capital group. "It’s a partnership where everyone wins. IBM expands its network of business partners, while partners increase their client portfolio and can gain global reach."
IBM has launched a Portuguese language version of IBM developerWorks, an online technical skills resource and community for developers, to support Brazil’s growing ecosystem of 300,000 IT professionals. The site is used by eight million IT professionals.
IBM is also making its entire portfolio of IBM Lotus software available at no charge to accredited colleges and universities across Latin America for software development learning purposes.
