Geovana Pagel
São Paulo – Brazilian Intelligence in Software (Brains) was the first Brazilian export consortium in the Information Technology (IT) sector to have the support of the Brazilian Export Promotion Agency (Apex) for international promotion activities. Now the group defends the inclusion of the Arab market in its Integrated Sector Project (PSI), to represent and prospect business for all Brazilian consortiums on the foreign market.
"We want the Arab countries to be targeted by the PSI," stated Gilberto Lima Júnior, International Business manager at the Software Technology Centre (Tecsoft), in Brazilian capital Brasília, the organization responsible for the consortium. "It is now time to export to them. The Arab world, in general, wants to reduce dependence on the United States and Europe," completed Lima Júnior.
Brains interest in the Middle East and Africa was born after the consortium hired a consultancy company to evaluate markets with potential for Brazilian products. "We have a partnership with company Árabe Brasil, which currently represents 12 sectors of the Brazilian economy," he explained.
The tour Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took of five Arab countries in the Middle East, in December 2003, helped consolidate partnerships with potential Arab importers, like banks and companies. "We visited various companies and generated understanding. We now have a good relationship with a group of Arab businesses, among them Javna Wireless, from Jordânia, which is currently speaking to two Brazilian companies in the telecommunications sector," he explained.
In the United Arab Emirates, the consortium also intends to create a business base at Dubai Internet City, a technology free zone installed in the city. It is an area where foreign companies are allowed to operate without the need for an Arab partner. "We initially want to map the market and then to evolve and develop partnerships," he explained.
In April this year, a group of Arab businessmen visited Brazil to participate in the International Software Business Meeting (ISBM 2004), whose main objective is to bring together foreign clients interested in technological solutions.
"With formalization of the PSI, to be signed up to the end of September, all Brazilian IT consortiums will have one objective. It will thus be possible to develop a larger project," he guaranteed.
The intention is to execute the first operation in Dubai between October and November. "We want to promote a trade mission and to coordinate it with the closing of deals," he explained.
Brains
Consortium Brains joins 16 companies, 14 from Brasília and two from the industrial city of São Paulo, operating in various sectors, going from commercial, industrial, and banking automation to transport and electronic document management. The group is coordinated by the Tecsoft, which is, in turn, an agent of the Society for the Promotion of Excellence in Brazilian Software (Softex).
Brains supplies member companies with consultancy in each market, hiring consultants specialized in the country or region chosen. The consultants also know the operating system of IT companies.
The consortium also organizes international events like fairs and missions, methods for the promotion of Brazilian software on the foreign market, offering industrial qualification to prepare businessmen who are interested in the foreign market.
The companies participating in the Brains consortium are turned to strategic markets: the United States, Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Germany, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates. The consortium has also started negotiating with Australia. China is also becoming a strategic partner.
Contact
www.brains-it.com
