From political strife to the Olympics snafu, Brazil’s last decade has been a rollercoaster ride. But there could be hope on the way, with recent political stability, a flourishing startup scene, growing mobile penetration and a healthy eCommerce appetite showing promise for innovators looking to do business in Brazil. The second largest economy in the Americas poses its own set of unique challenges. Get the scoop in the latest PYMNTS.com Doing Business In Brazil report.
Can Brazil return to its booming business days of yesteryear?
It wasn’t too long ago that the country’s economy was growing quickly, with Brazil’s GDP rising by more than 3 percent every year between 1999 and 2008. That growth came on the back of increased international demand for local commodities like oil, sugar and coffee, making Brazil seem ready to become an economic powerhouse.
But that golden age ended in 2015, as a corruption scandal involving a government-run oil company shook the country to its core. President Dilma Rousseff was impeached in August of last year, and investor confidence plummeted, dragging Brazil’s GDP down 4 percent in the process. Now, the country’s middle class is shrinking, with more than 12 million citizens moving to a lower income bracket in 2015.
Despite all this, there’s reason to believe business will boom again in Brazil. The country’s population remains highly educated, and it has a promising infrastructure built during the recent golden years. Also, investors are once again warming up to the country’s flourishing startup scene.
The country is the subject of the latest edition of the PYMNTS.com Doing Business In report, done in collaboration with PayU, which focuses on the state of business — and doing business — around the world and what’s coming down the road ahead.
On-demand startups are rapidly expanding and so is the confidence of international investors like Google, IBM and Visa, which are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into supporting startup accelerators.
Plus, a new push by President Michel Temer for rapid privatization of the economy is creating new opportunities for supporting the country’s growing eCommerce appetite.
Other key takeaways from the Doing Business in Brazil report include:
The PYMNTS.com Doing Business In Brazil report also features an interview with Pedro Pandolpho about how the payment methods for eCommerce businesses have shifted in recent years and what the future of digital payments might be in Brazil.
Pandolpho told PYMNTS that his eCommerce business is seeing a growth in credit card transactions and noted that options like Visa Checkout are slowly gaining momentum in Brazil.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
About The Report
The Doing Business In Report, a PYMNTS.com and PayU collaboration, focuses on the state of business — and doing business — around the world and what’s coming down the road ahead. Proprietary data analysis focuses on the past, present and future of nations on the rise in the world of payments.
We’re always on the lookout for opportunities to partner with innovators and disruptors.
Learn More