Porto Digital in Recife may have to confront competition if Dário Berger, mayor of Florianópolis (state of Santa Catarina), realises what he plans: a Brazilian Silicon Valey in his city. Nowadays 300 IT- and software development companies generate revenues of about R$ 400 million p.a. and wants more.
Please dear politicians in Rio, we have a port, a beautiful centro which needs revitalization, Lula gave us the tax incentive to attract foreign VC funds to invest into tech companies, what we miss is that YOU, HERE give us the support and we will make Rio the center of technology in Brazil!
Porto Digital is located on the historical ground of the Old Recife Quarter and adds an urban redevelopment component to the project by recovering the city’s old harbor and port area. Several buildings have been renovated with an area of allover 22,000 square meters meanwhile restored.
The neighborhood’s current infrastructure is suited to host ITC companies thanks to its excellent road network and banking services, as well as the fact of being only 7 kilometers away from the largest airport in the northeastern region. As a further feature, 7 kilometers of optic fiber cable and 26 kilometers of duct have been installed, making it one of the country’s most modern urban areas in terms of communication.
In adition to the redevelopment of urban and technology infrastructure, there are appropriate sectoral policies in place and a full set of tools to complement Porto Digital’s structuring projects.
Among them are the Investment and Promotion Fund, the Human Capital Fund with a focus on vocational training, and the Guaranty Fund offering guarantees of up to 70% for loans by public banks to software companies. The Municipal Act 16.731/01 also benefits companies through financial incentives allowing for a reduction of up to 60% of the local sales tax on services (ISS).
In the four years since it started operations, Porto Digital was able to transfer 1,600 jobs to this city area and to attract 10 companies from other regions in Brazil, as well as four multinational corporations, in addition to hosting two technology centers.
Global giants like Microsoft, Oracle, Nokia, IBM e a Motorola, amongst others, are clients of Porto Digital companies. Their research, design and technology centers develop products and applications for the world.
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