Brazil has the eighth largest economy in the world. While Brazil had several years in the 2000 decade of very modest growth, the economy picked up in 2007, showing a growth of 5.1%. Inflation has remained moderate. 2006 recorded an inflation rate of 3.14%
In 2003, Goldman Sachs investment bank posted that the economies of some developing nations are growing so rapidly that they may become the world’s most dominant economies by 2050. These economies could eclipse some of today’s G7 nations. Goldman Sachs coined the term “BRIC” for the top 4 countries indicated in the study: Brazil, Russia, India and China. The original paper positioned Brazil and Russia as the world’s predominant producer of raw materials (soy and iron ore from Brazil and oil and natural gas from Russia). China is positioned to become the world’s leading manufacturer and India will supply services.
The Brazil economy continues to face some challenges. 9.6% of the population are unemployed in a labor force of nearly 98 million people. There is a large disparity in income as the top 10% of the population earns 45.31% of the total net income. The bottom 50% shares only 14% of the income (2005 figures). 19.31% of the population lives below the poverty line, however this percentage has dropped over the last few years.
ICT Employment Opportunities (Stage 3)
Since implementing policies to produce a viable ICT market, Brazil looks to become a major software and hardware production center. The country features a large market, manufacturing capabilities, installed industrial base and access to other South American markets with current trade agreements. There has been a steady wave of major computer hardware firms relocating regional production centers to Brazil, which has attracted component suppliers and major parts distributors and specialized contract manufacturers. Brazil strives to maintain excellence in IT. With a large and impressive university trained workforce, Brazil offers good opportunities to create a strong demand in the production of software services and services aimed at local users.
Business-to-Consumer (B2C) Electronic Commerce (Stage 3)
In Brazil, B2C is growing rapidly as the country’s infrastructure improves. Strong government support of IT startup initiatives has strengthened both B2C and B2B markets. Readily available high-speed Internet cafes have also encouraged growth in the B2C market. In 2002, the Brazilian B2C market was estimated at over $1.4 billion (E-consulting). Most transactions are now completed using credit cards and electronic transactions accounted for ~10% of B2C sales in March 2006, or about 300% growth compared to statistics available two years prior. Most online sales can be constributed to the automotive manufacturing industry, which accounts for over 80% of online sales. According to Interactive Media Association, online advertisement spending in Brazil increased, up 35% in 2007.
Brazil’s B2C industry is a fast-growing, rapidly changing market. As internet usage increases in Brazil, consumers will quickly adapt to B2C markets.
Business-to-Business (B2B) Electronic Commerce (Stage 3)
While 44% of municipalities in Brazil have no internet service or private telecommunication service, the internet connectivity and telecommunications infrastructure in the major cities are very good. Much business is conducted electronically. According to the Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, the amount of business-to-business transactions in the first quarter of 2007 was 133.4 bn Reals (76.2 billion USD). It was a growth of 43% from the prior year. That phenomenal growth is a clear indicator that Brazil is embracing the efficiencies that online transactions can produce. This number will continue to grow as more companies begin using E-portals to transact their business.
E-Government (Stage 3)
The Brazilian federal government runs an internet portal that includes over 800 services and offers 4800 different types of information. This portal, called Rede Governo, provides services for income tax filing, tax payment certificates, registration for government suppliers, primary and secondary school enrollment, information on retirement funds and other social benefits, distance learning programs, and email services.
Brazil has also instituted an e-voting program (electronic voting) and an e-procurement system. While this has improved government transparency, reduced bureaucracy, and created efficiencies, there are still problems to overcome:
- Intercommunication between systems is poor- There is no legal framework to ensure the authenticity of electronic documents
- There is no legal framework to authenticate electronic payments to the government
- The general population has limited internet access (in 2000 there were 4-9 million internet users in a country of 169 million).
- State and municipal governments do not have as many services available online
In 2005, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs assessed 191 UN Member states according to their state e-government readiness. Brazil ranked 33rd, coming in third in Latin America (behind Chile and Mexico). This represents an improvement from 2004 as Brazil continues to improve its infrastructure.
B2C
[1] "http://globaltechforum.eiu.com/index.asp?layout=newdebi&country
_id=BR&channelid=6&country=Brazil&title=Doing+e-business+in+Brazil"
[2] http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/10001.asp
B2B
[3] http://www.camara-e.net/interna.asp?tipo=1&valor=4116
[4] http://globaltechforum.eiu.com/index.asp?layout=rich_story&doc_id=10992&title=
Brazil%3A+Bridge%2Dbuilding+needed+for+digital+divide&channelid=4&categoryid=28
eGovernment
[5] http://www.waseda.jp/assoc-cioacademy/pdf/dasilva.pdf, accessed online
[6] http://www.knight-moore.com/projects/e-Government%20in%20Brazil.html
[7] http://www.knight-moore.com/presentations/Rio
%20Inteligente%20Eng/Castello2_files/frame.htm
[8] http://www.egov4dev.org/brazeproc.htm
[9] http://topics.developmentgateway.org/ict/highlights/
viewHighlight.do?activeHighlightId=107781
[10] http://www.centerdigitalgov.com/international/story.php?docid=79906
[11] http://www.knight-moore.com/projects/BrazilNaples.html
[12] http://www.knight-moore.com/projects/PedroFariasdiscurso.html
[13] http://www.redegoverno.gov.br