São Paulo – The Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) launched this Wednesday (25), in a hybrid event, its 4.0 Space, which includes the ABCC Lab, Ellos Blockchain platform, and the organization’s Innovation Committee. The astronaut and minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MCTI), Marcos Pontes, visited the headquarters of the ABCC and gave a speech at the ceremony, which had an audience on-site and over the internet.
The president of the ABCC, ambassador Osmar Chohfi (pictured above), opened the event. According to him, the 4.0 Space’s mission is to connect Brazilian and Arab innovation ecosystems, disseminate knowledge, and expand their operations. “The ABCC’s innovation hub now has the ABCC Lab, conceived to stimulate the internationalization of startups, scale-ups, and technology-based companies in the Brazilian and Arab markets,” he stated.
The ABCC Lab is a laboratory to connect companies and other innovation agents in Brazil and the Arab countries, especially startups; the Ellos Platform will streamline and digitalize the procedures and trade contacts between players of both regions, and the Innovation Committee will have companies from both sides discussing topics related to innovation.
The work of the ABCC Lab will be aimed at developing awareness-raising activities, training, presenting solutions, and connecting stakeholders, in addition to promoting networking among participants to favor the exchange of experiences and skills.
Pontes stated that during the pandemic, virtual work and technologies associated with the digital transformation were perceived to have helped keep the workflow of businesses and enterprises. According to him, one of the Ministry’s priorities is to place Brazil on an equal footing with developed countries in these areas. He claims the country has an extensive capacity to develop these systems.
“Since 2019, we have been encouraging some accessory technologies, such as the internet of things, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud processing, among others. This 4.0 Space adds up within this system. I am sure it will be a success mainly because of the connection we already have naturally, with the number of people in Brazil of Arab descent, around 10 to 12 million people, Brazil already has this characteristic and making this connection with companies, startups, thinking about this development, about 4.0 technologies is fundamental,” said Pontes.
The minister also stated he has been working to reduce what he called “the 13-62 gap.” “Brazil is 13th in scientific production and 62nd in innovations, and we are working to close this gap. We need to improve in innovations in the country, and I really believe in this. One of the guidelines we have in the Ministry is networking, cooperation, partnerships with different institutions and countries,” he said.
The Ministry’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation secretary, Paulo Alvim, stated, “the 4.0 Space has to do with the strategies indicated by Minister Marcos Pontes and is one of the priorities of the Bolsonaro government.” To him, this means a possibility of bringing partnerships to Brazil and finding new opportunities with the Arab countries. “The pandemic brought us a lesson that we need more science, more technology, but mainly more cooperation,” he said.
IBM Latin America’s Director of Government Relations and Regulatory Affairs, Fabio Rua, also spoke at the launch. For him, the 4.0 Space will be a favorable environment for technological development and creating new technologies and innovations for the benefit of Brazilians and Arabs.
Thematic Committees
The New Business director of the ABCC, Daniella Leite, announced the launch of the organization’s thematic committees. The committees with open meetings will be the Women’s Committee, Legal Committee, Innovation Committee, and Sustainability Committee. The open committees will have monthly meetings between executives from different segments to update information about the market, exchange best practices, and network. All members of the ABCC can participate.
The four strategic committees will focus on Defense, Business Development, Brazil Halal, and Regulations. These committees will have working groups with private meetings between executives from the same area of operation to discuss matters of interest to members to build relevant solutions and guidelines to improve the business environment. Only guest decision-makers and managers will be able to participate.
The Innovation Committee intends to hold meetings to connect stakeholders in the innovation ecosystem, address matters related to the ABCC Lab’s progress, and trends and aspects analyzed by the ABCC. The first meeting of the Innovation Committee will occur on October 5. It will have as its theme the Arab ecosystem and how innovation and technology can drive the future of the region.
Leite announced the Innovation Committee has a Brazilian leader, Walker Lahmann, executive director of pharmaceutical company Eurofarma. The Arab side will be represented by Luc Charrier, commercial executive vice president of Dubai CommerCity, a company specializing in e-commerce in the Middle East.
“Brazil is a great scientific innovation hub; we produce good quality science. We need mechanisms to improve this relationship between universities and the private sector, industry, the service sector; to take advantage of this scientific qualification,” said Lahmann. According to the businessman, the launch of the ABCC’s initiative facilitates and opens paths for interaction between Brazil and the Arab countries and provides the opportunity to bring Brazilian companies closer to innovation centers abroad, which he said is a demand from the entrepreneurs.
“Technology and Innovation are crucial for our region’s free trade zone. In Dubai, we make use of the latest technologies and incorporate innovation into our systems to build the ecosystem that helps retailers and service providers work in the region and grow in this up-and-coming part of the world,” said Charrier.
Also speaking at the event were the ABCC’s Information Technology manager, Marcos Bulgarelli; the International Business consultant and head of the ABCC Lab, Karen Mizuta; and the Vice President of Foreign Trade, Ruy Carlos Cury. They unveiled to the public more details on the new projects of the ABCC. Cury gave the closing address of the event.
Watch the full event:
Translated by Elúsio Brasileiro
