Brazil needs its own global technology companies if it is to capitalise on its market growth, says Antonio Gil, president of Brasscom, Brazil's technology industry trade body.
Brasscom represents 45 companies in Brazil's IT industry and serves as a link between the private and public sector.
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Speaking at SAP's Innovation Tour in Brazil, Gil said that the outlook in Brazil in terms of IT market growth was extremely positive. "Brazil has double the average market growth in the world in the area, and was second only to China, and above India," he said.
He said that IT investment growth in 2011-12 for Brazil was 10.8 per cent, trailing only China with 15 per cent growth.
At the moment, Gil said, the IT sector generates about 5.3 per cent of Brazil's GDP, but Brasscom wants its share of GDP to grow to 8 per cent by 2022.
Yet while Brazil has developed world-class aircraft manufacturing and steel companies it does not yet boast one company of note in IT.
"I think Brazil needs to develop its own companies in this area. It is unlike China, for example, which has people who don't worry as much, and just create companies, in Brazil it is not like that at the moment," he said.
Brazil's Campinas region has been compared to Silicon Valley in the US, but while it has a high-tech university, research facilities and "tech incubators", it is also the home to major tech firms like IBM, Samsung, Dell and Huawei - but not yet Brazil's answer to Google, SAP or ARM.
