Brazil
Curitiba
Pinhão Valley has put Curitiba among the 6 smartest cities in the world and included it in the Smart21, the index of most intelligent communities. Innovation moves us forward.
Ecosystem by the Numbers
Fintech
Curitiba is home to Brazil’s youngest unicorn, EBANX, a Fintech startup providing a platform for end-to-end localized payments. Launched in 2012, EBANX has facilitated almost $2 billion in payments and has enabled international companies like AirBnb and AliExpress to process payments and expand operations in Latin America. Another success story is Contabilizei, an accounting and tax filing software startup that raised a $20 million a Series C round in 2019. Other Fintechs in the city attracting investor interest include payment management solutions provider Juno and cryptocurrency exchange platform Wuzu.
Cleantech
Curitiba’s annual SmartCity Expo attracts more than 6,500 people to debate the future of cities in light of technological change and sustainability. The portfolio of Founder Institute (the world’s largest pre-seed accelerator) includes Fohat, a Brazilian energy intelligence software provider founded in Curitiba in 2017. The company received grant funding of $1.4 million in 2018, and its solutions are being used by international companies such as Bosch and Volvo.
Reasons to Move Your Startup to Curitiba
Breadth of Startups
Startups in Curitiba span a broad range of sub-sectors, including Edtech, Life Sciences, Adtech, Fintech, and Cleantech.
COVID-19 Policy
Brazil announced an Emergency Employment and Income Maintenance Program to preserve jobs in the country. Under the program, the government pays an emergency benefit ifor the duration of the proportional reduction in the working day with the use of unemployment insurance.
Government Initiatives
In 2017, the government of Curitiba launched Vale do Pinhão, a program intended to drive business growth and employment in the region. A $2.8 million innovation fund under this program financially supports local startups and enables them to scale via research and development.
Selected Startup Organizations
Startup Genome Members
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