Geovana Pagel
São Paulo – The initiative to create a technological park generating business and promoting revitalization of the historical sites of northeastern capital Recife, in the state of Pernambuco, was born in June 2000. So as to create the necessary infrastructure, an investment of over US$ 14 million was made. The government of the state of Pernambuco spent an estimated US$ 11 million, telecommunications companies invested over US$ 320,000, and private companies around US$ 3.2 million.
Porto Digital develops solutions in Information and Communications Technology (ICT), employing over 1,600 people in its 70 institutions that are in operation, including technology companies, organizations for investment and specialized services, distributed in an area of over 20,000 square metres of recovered area in the historical centre of Recife.
So as to administrate the technology complex and attract investment and business, organization Núcleo de Gestão do Porto Digital (NGPD – Porto Digital Management Nucleus) was created. "Porto Digital is currently the largest urban technological park in Brazil," stated nucleus director president Pier Carlo Sola.
The park is mostly composed of companies born from theses presented at universities. Wages paid to employees are way above the Brazilian average, at around eight minimum salaries (around US$ 670), and 75% of the companies supply innovative solutions in the ICT sector.
Master and doctorate pole
The director explains that the project began around 20 years ago, when the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE) Information Technology Centre (CIn) started concentrating a large number of professionals with masters and doctorate degrees. "These professionals were in the end absorbed by companies in other Brazilian states and also on the foreign market," he explained.
All this information technology and communications personnel created links between companies and universities, making knowledge into business.
In the state of Pernambuco there are currently 17 ICT education units and over 50 professionals with doctors degrees working at the CIn, one of the best computer science institutions in Latin America, representing 31% of researchers in the area.
The Recife Centre for Studies and Advanced Systems (C.E.S.A.R) was originally born in the Information Technology Centre in UFPE, and currently employs around 280 people.
The organization develops projects for Motorola, for the Internal Revenue Services, and for the ministry of Science and Technology, among others. Companies like Qualiti, Vanguard, and Neurotech were, in the past, business units like C.E.S.A.R, and are currently exporting services and consultancy throughout Brazil and to other countries like Canada and the United States.
Company incubator
The main NGPD building also houses the company incubator run by the nucleus. The premises also houses companies such as the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV) and Oracle. "The objective is to promote integration, simplify the flow of knowledge, and speed up environmental growth."
Among the incubated companies at different phases of maturity, Cais do Porto building, where the company is located, hosts Anima, Intersight, Globaltech, Fabrik, Daccord, and Jynx. With 19 employees and offering wireless network solutions, Intersight is a partner of American company Enterasys. After releasing Futsim, an online football team manager, games developer Jynx bets on game solutions for company management and training.
Revitalization of the historical site
Situated on the island that gave birth to the city of Recife, the technological park also has the function of promoting revitalization of the historical site that was one of the most important trade centres in colonial Brazil. Porto Digital has already promoted and provided incentives to revitalization of over 22,000 square kilometres of the neighbourhood, with the recovery of buildings for company installations.
Cais do Porto building is a two-storey building covering an area of 2,500 square metres that was redone. It also houses a medium sized convention centre with modular rooms capable of seating 120 people.
Due to the geographic location and to the number of people working for the park, the centre has become the best place in the city for events and training, hosting meetings by companies like the FGV, Microsoft, Oracle, Ingran, IBM and the British Council.
The state Science, Technology, Environment and Hydric Resource Secretariat (SECTMA) is the Pernambuco state government representative in the project and occupies a building of eclectic style, from the beginning of the twentieth century. Its main project with Porto Digital is to increase the competitiveness of Pernambuco state productive chains based on technology.
"We decided to concentrate our efforts on showing that this is a good place to develop an information platform. We wanted, and managed, to place Pernambuco in the world technology map," stated Cláudio Marinho, Pernambuco state Science and Technology secretary.
According to Marinho, the project was born in one of the meetings of Pacto 21, a group of influential people after development of the community, presenting projects in emerging markets.
The secretary stated that when creating conditions in the historical neighbourhood of Recife for installation of the new technology enterprises, items evaluated included interaction and cooperation between the government, schools, and companies, the need for scale visibility, and the connection between history, culture, and technology.
"We wanted to transform the location into a competitive centre, with training centres. Four years later it is possible to state that the objective has been clearly reached. We built an urban technological park in the heart of the city."
New companies installed
According to the park administration, the number of companies joining Porto Digital project has been rising 160% a year (figures for 2003). Last year alone, 28 companies established themselves on Recife Island, attracted by the business opportunity in then region.
Among the companies that have transferred their offices to the island are multinational IBM, and Canadian company Waterloo Hydrogeologic, a world leader in the supply of software for hydric resource administration, company Conecta from Brazilian capital Brasília, and Telematic from the northeastern state of Bahia.
Contact
Telephone: (+5581) 3419.8021 or 8036
e-mail: piercarlo@portodigital.org
Site: www.portodigital.org
