Curitiba is the second best startup ecosystem in Brazil on an international scale
03.11.2022
The capital city of Paraná is among the six finalists of the World Smart City Awards 2022
Curitiba is ranked second nationally in the 2022 Startup Ecosystem Index Report, a global ranking that highlights the best ecosystems for the creation and growth of technology companies. The achievement was announced this Tuesday (1st), a day after the capital city of Paraná was nominated as one of the six finalists of the World Smart Cities Award 2022, the biggest smart cities prize in the world.
In the Startup Ecosystem Index, Curitiba retained the position it won last year. In South America, the capital city of Paraná rose one place compared to 2021 and was in fifth place, ahead of cities such as Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre, Montevideo (Uruguay), Asunción (Paraguay), Medellín (Colombia). and Córdoba. (Argentina). In the first place in the country was São Paulo.
The ranking is carried out by StartupBlink, an international reference research center responsible for mapping 1,000 cities in 100 countries, which evaluates innovation ecosystems for startups around the world in terms of innovation, business environment and quality of technology companies.
The startup ecosystem in Curitiba stands out, according to an international study, in segments such as e-commerce/retail, transportation, hardware and the Internet of Things.
The first three unicorns from Curitiba, namely, act directly or are linked to some of these segments. Ebanx is a leader in payment processing services for purchases, MadeiraMadeira is the largest platform for home products in Latin America, and Olist offers e-commerce services to place small sellers in large online storefronts such as Mercado Livre, Americanas.com and Submarino. Three companies achieved unicorn status after being valued at $1 billion.
A study from 2022 considered three more startups in the capital “outstanding”: Contabilizei, Pontomais and Leadlovers. It is the first part of Tecnoparque, a municipal program that offers ISS reductions for companies that invest in innovation and jobs.
Startups such as MadeiraMadeira, Olist, Doctoralia, Hilab, Checkmob, Juno, James Delivery, Direction, Horizons, Rentcars, Send4, Anthor, Omnichat and BrBatel are also part of Tecnoparque.
order
The Startup Ecosystem Index report ranks the best startup ecosystems according to algorithms that analyze tens of thousands of data on startups, accelerators and coworking spaces listed on StartupBlink’s global startup ecosystem map, as well as data received from global partners such as Crunchbase and SimilarWeb. Finally, StartupBlink uses data collected from more than 50,000 members across the Global StartupBlink Community.
Curitiba Development and Innovation Agency is an institutional partner of StartupBlink and collaborates with research. During the live dissemination this Tuesday (1/11), the Technical Director of the Agency, Paulo Krauss, presented the Vale do Pinhão ecosystem.
“Emerging regional hubs are building technologies that serve their geographies. People around the world now use solutions tailored to their local tastes and preferences, built by local entrepreneurs rather than sponsored by a few powerful corporations. We love it,” says Eli David, CEO of StartupBlink.
friendly environment
“Curitiba has everything a vibrant startup ecosystem needs,” says Cris Alessi, president of the Curitiba Development and Innovation Agency.
She cites the consolidation of Vale do Pinhão in the last five years, the movement of the entire innovation ecosystem to turn the capital into a reference in sustainable economic development, a highly qualified workforce, national reference universities, the diversity of industries, entrepreneurs in search of a constant flow of new products and services and deep engaged public and private partners.
Several city hall initiatives have also helped foster the startup environment in Curitiba, such as the opening of Worktibas, the first public coworking spaces in the country, and the relaunch of municipal programs such as Tecnoparque and Bom Negócios, to train entrepreneurs for high-performance activities.
“Since 2018, when the Tecnoparque was relaunched by Mayor Rafael Greca, Curitiba’s tax incentives allow technology-based companies to reinvest in their operations. The Bom Negócios program changes the way of thinking of entrepreneurs because it prepares them for a new perspective on business management, focusing mainly on the digital world,” Cris Alessi points out.
global evolution
Globally, Curitiba is ranked 141st in the 2022 Startup Ecosystem Index Report, up three places from 2021. After a jump of 36 places, the capital is only behind São Paulo, which ranked 1st in country and 16th place in the world.
Since the beginning of Mayor Rafael Greca’s administration, Curitiba has won several national and international awards as a friendly ecosystem for entrepreneurs and startups, as well as a smart city.
Just this year, the capital was voted the most intelligent and connected city in Brazil, according to the Ranking Connect Smarted Cities 2022, and one of the seven smartest communities in the world, according to the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF).
Photo: Cido Marques
