Filipe has been NSAM’s Brazil editor for over two years.
By Filipe Pacheco
O Rio de Janeiro continua lindo.
This is an extract of a popular song about Rio de Janeiro, written in 1972 by Gilberto Gil, an iconic name in Brazil’s rich musical lore. It means, “Rio remains beautiful.” Forty one-years have gone by after the song was composed and Rio too has gone through a series of modifications and facelifts, yet this Brazilian city is as beautiful and beguiling as ever.
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Herszkowicz of Linx: IPO is Smart Way to Go
By Filipe Pacheco
Raising funds has never been easy for Brazilian enterprises. With interest rates typically above 7 percent, borrowing money in Latin America’s biggest economy has always been difficult so an increasing number of IT firms are pushing headlong into the Brazil stock market – gaining big cash infusions through initial public offerings.
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IBM recruiter Laird says private training is often the best substitute
By Clayton Browne
Rapid economic growth throughout Latin America has created a situation where the educational systems in the region simply cannot produce enough people with the required skills to meet expanding demand. At a time when Latin America continues to edge closer to making meaningful contributions to the global workplace, intense debates are taking place across the region about the shortcomings of university educations – from the rigor needed in science and technology education to mastery of foreign languages.
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By Narayan Ammachchi
The number of broadband connections in Brazil rose to 25.5 million in 2012, with more carriers luring consumers with high-speed Internet services, according to a survey conducted by the IDC.
The research firm, whose study was sponsored by Cisco, stated that the figure was not inclusive of connections made over smartphones. Given the report, Brazil has 35 mobile connections for every 100 fixed-line connections.
“Fixed-line data connections include two new definitions: Broadband 2.0, for speeds of 2.0 Mbps or over; and Broadband 1.0, for connections between 128 Kbps and 2 Mbps,” says Cisco, adding that connections of 2 Mbps and over are considered the minimum speed for enjoying what the Internet has to offer.
Interestingly, Cisco says, average speeds rose 148 Kbps between January and June 2012 to an average 4.88 Mbps. The main reason behind this increase was changes in speeds introduced by service providers aiming to meet …
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Executives from Humana, Riverwood Capital, Pace Harmon and AT Kearney debate the maturity of LATAM for BPO and shared services.
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Klender of Deloitte: List of global corps setting up in LATAM grows.
Narayan Ammachchi
Latin America is quickly establishing itself as a preferred destination for global corporations seeking to set up shared service centers (SSC), with more and more players pursuing new locations in Brazil and the Andean states to perform back-office functions. “Proximity and cost structure are some of the factors favoring the region,” says Mark Klender, Principal, Deloitte Consulting, which has recently surveyed nearly a hundred global corporate executives to gauge shared services trends and preferences.
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By Narayan Ammachchi
The Brazilian Ministry of Science & Technology is offering funding to overseas technology companies interested in developing innovative software and IT services inside Brazil – a move reminiscent of CORFO’s (Chile) creation of StartUp Chile launch several years ago.
The government has allocated 25 slots for foreign tech start-ups in its “Start-Up Brasil” accelerator program designed to foster innovation in Brazil’s software and information technology services industry.
“Shortlisted enterprises will be eligible for up to US$ 596,000 in funds,” said the Ministry in a statement.
‘Start-Up Brasil’ has a budget of US$ 19.8 million and aims to support 75 domestic companies besides their foreign counterparts.
“We want to encourage entrepreneurs in the area of information technology. This area is strategically important for us to develop new business for Brazil,” said Brazil’s Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Marco Antonio Raupp.
Participating companies are required to have been operational since the past three years and to develop …
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