PARTNERSHIP OFFERS ADVICE TO INVESTORS

Investe Brasil was created in 2002 as a public-private partnership designed to heighten awareness in the country of the need to retain Foreign Direct Investment. The organization promotes a pro-business climate and works on various fronts to smooth the path for FDI into the country. In its first 15 months of activity, Investe Brasil was successful in attracting productive-sector investments of $1 billion, while identifying 188 investment opportunities at home. President Rudolf Hohn states, “We are private, but we are in partnership with the government. So, we are unique in that we have the flexibility of a private company, and we are supported and funded by the private sector, but we are also funded by the government with whom we have established a working plan.”

Investe Brasil offers investors a clear guide to options and easier ways of doing business in Brazil, while providing them with channels for dialogue and negotiation with government agencies and the private sector, as well as its institutional representatives, such as International Chambers of Commerce. The organization’s influence in both private and public sector realms enables it to open doors that present obstacles to individual investors working alone. Mr. Hohn explains, “We are non-profit so when it comes to negotiations between the investor and the government, we are seen as a neutral entity. This is one of the strengths that we have and it has made it easier to remove any initial obstacles.”

For many investors worldwide, it is not a question of if they will invest in Brazil, but when, and according to Mr. Hohn, that time is now. He comments, “If you consider that Brazil is a country of more than 100 million people with a GDP of over $500 billion, the potential is impossible to ignore. Even if you are small you have to be here, because the growth is going to come.”