Curitiba is yet another city, like dozens of others around the world, that is working to create a favorable and fertile environment for innovation. A center that has also been influenced by the explosion of startups and disruptive companies, a scene that brings together many thinking minds in search of new solutions, products and services.
The model to be followed is that of Silicon Valley, the great “mecca” of this type turkey number data of business, located in the San Francisco Bay, in California, USA. It is no coincidence, since it was there that giants such as Apple, Google, Facebook, Uber, Netflix and many others emerged and established themselves. It is the cradle of innovation and entrepreneurship, combining cutting-edge education (universities such as Stanford, Berkeley and Caltech are there), quality human capital and high investment.
The Valley's "magic formula" is no secret, so much so that it mirrored another current technology powerhouse, the Silicon Wadi region in Israel. It is also the line that Curitiba seeks to follow, in its due proportions, to continue developing and one day reach the level of excellence and reference as are the examples abroad.
One of the principles for this is not to live solely on past laurels; it is necessary to go beyond the label of “model capital” and modernize. And this was done most clearly with the creation of the so-called “Pinhão Valley”: a series of actions that aim to foster the innovation industry in the city, inspired by Silicon Valley – including in the name.
The Curitiba Valley emerged from the union between the city government, accelerators, incubators, universities, investment funds, research centers, startups and creative cultural movements. Because it is not enough to just wait, it is necessary to roll up your sleeves and create the conditions for the market to develop. And the true signal was given.
To this end, five pillars were defined to support Curitiba's growth in its quest to become one of the largest, if not the largest, centers in Brazil – and to surpass other important hubs such as Belo Horizonte-MG, Florianópolis-SC and Recife-PE. They are “Education and Entrepreneurship”, “Reurbanization and Development”, “Fiscal Support”, “Integration and Articulation” and “Technology”.
“As we received feedback from members of the so-called entrepreneurial ecosystem (startups, universities, large companies, professional associations and accelerators), the concept of the Valley expanded throughout the city and was structured around five pillars,” explains Cris Alessi, president of Agência Curitiba, a city government agency responsible for policies focused on innovation and entrepreneurship.
On the one hand, education plays a fundamental role in this idea of “innovative capital”. Not only universities, but also other entities such as innovation schools, coworking spaces and other collectives that work to organize courses, research, lectures and events that help create a rich and diverse ecosystem.
It is through this educational movement that new minds and, consequently, new ideas emerge. It is by fostering the creation and exchange of knowledge, in the most varied areas, that the project moves forward. Education is the basis of everything.
On the other hand, perhaps the beauty of the capital of Paraná alone would not be enough to attract companies and investors. Therefore, in addition to creating a productive, fertile and qualified environment in terms of human resources, tax incentives and benefits were also developed to attract capital from other places. In addition, for 2019, the city government announced the investment of R$10 million in a municipal innovation fund.
The effort is being made in several ways. The greatest result of these actions, whether by the government, companies, entrepreneurs or professionals themselves, is the way they influence not only the market itself. Much more than resulting in better conditions for startups to evolve, society as a whole feels this impact in some way.
After all, with more opportunities, more startups, with more solutions needed by the population, are taken off the drawing board; more direct and indirect jobs end up being created; in the same way, the demand for qualifications increases – whether at universities or at innovation schools like Harve, which offer specific training for the demands of the area. The wheel of the economy ends up turning.
Recognition of all this is also important, it values what is done and motivates the entrepreneurial movement of the “Land of Araucárias” to continue. And this happened, for example, with the award granted in 2018 by Connected Smarts Cities to Curitiba as the “smartest city” in Brazil – surpassing São Paulo. Indicators such as technology and innovation, economy, education, health, security and entrepreneurship were considered to define the winner of the award.
Another positive feedback was obtained through an assessment carried out by the 100 Open Startups Movement also in 2018, which indicated that of the 100 most attractive startups for the market, ten are from Curitiba. All this in a universe of 6.4 thousand companies analyzed.
In addition, two companies based in Curitiba were recognized by LinkedIn Top Startups of 2018 and are ranked among the 25 most desired companies by professionals in Brazil: Ebanx and Contabilizei . A brand that puts the Curitiba companies in question in the spotlight, more effectively, and attracts the spotlight to the others.
These are not just awards and trophies, but proof that Curitiba is one of the country's great innovation and entrepreneurship scenarios. They are signs that the work being carried out by companies and the support given by the government is on the right track, encouraging the creation of and investment in new startups in the Curitiba hub in the coming years.
If in past decades Curitiba attracted attention for its innovative public transportation model, its bus lines and urbanization, today it can also be called a “model capital” due to the entrepreneurial market established in Paraná. Vale do Pinhão wants to be the Brazilian Silicon Valley.
