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Brazilian banks in crypto blocking probe
Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) recently announced that it was in the midst of an investigation into potential sharp practice by the country’s incumbent banks. CADE took on the investigation following a complaint from the Brazilian Association of Cryptocurrency and Blockchain (ABCB). Among the banks implicated in the probe are Santander Brasil, Banco Inter, Itaú Unibanco, Bradesco, Sicredi and Banco de Brasil. CADE expressed concern that the banks may be imposing restrictions or simply blocking cryptocurrency exchanges and crypto-derived brokerages access to financial services. This is not the first instance of conflict between the banks and crypto-related businesses. There are existing legal challenges working […]Read more...
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MaxMilhas: the Brazilian air travel marketplace that made it on its own
With Brazil gripped by economic crisis and financial growth at an all-time low, numbers of Brazilians flying both nationally and internationally have significantly reduced in recent years. This drop in air travel and general lack of disposable income has created a demand for holiday discounts and bargains that Belo Horizonte-born entrepreneur Max Oliveira spotted early on. Image courtesy of @MaxMilhas – Facebook. His self-titled business MaxMilhas works to satisfy the demands of two very different types of travellers. The first are those who are always on the hunt for a bargain, looking for cheap flights. The second, frequent travellers who fly so often that they have air […]Read more...
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Latin America’s leading fintech summit all set for its second edition in Miami
Next week, Latin America’s leading Fintech event – Finnosummit – will return to Miami for its second edition, bringing together leading industry experts, investors, innovative startups, and financial institution executives. The conference – organised by Finnovista, in association with LAB Ventures – aims to provide an inclusive space for over 400 participants to explore Fintech potential in the region, drive industry innovations and forge new connections between entrepreneurs. Discussions and speeches will cover a number of topics, including venture capital collaboration in Latin America, digital identity in banking, the potential for building financial service platforms via blockchain, InsurTech’s evolution in region, future regulatory frameworks, and […]Read more...
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How will this year’s elections impact upon Brazil’s economy?
Brazil’s economy, the second largest in the Western Hemisphere, is at breaking point. Having briefly recovered from its worst ever recession in 2017, the country plunged straight back into stagnation, deeply affected by this year’s truckers’ strikes and continuing political and corruption scandals. According to figures from the Central Bank, economic growth for this year has recently been reduced to 1.6% and continues to diminish. Current unemployment rates stand at around 12%, and the population continues to be affected by austerity cuts imposed by current President Michel Temer’s government since he took over from impeached former President Dilma Rousseff in […]Read more...
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As Brazilian real continues to fall, travel agency Decolar falls victim to emerging market stock plunge
Decolar, the Brazilian subsidiary of Latin America’s largest online travel agency Despegar, represents 40 percent of its total revenue. As a popular tourist destination, Brazil has a well-established network of domestic flights and is a crucial market for travel agencies and airlines based in the region. Many were concerned, therefore, when the company recently fell victim to this year’s global asset selloff in emerging markets as midway through last month its main shareholder Tiger Global announced it would sell all of its 43.7% stake in the company. Coming just 11 months after Despegar debuted on the New York Stock Exchange, the […]Read more...
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Paypal announces partnership with Brazil’s Itaú Unibanco
Officials at online payment service PayPal announced yesterday, August 29, that they will be teaming up with the Southern Hemisphere’s largest financial conglomerate, Itaú Unibanco Holdings S.A. After the 2008 merger of Brazilian public banks Itaú and Unibanco, the conglomerate became one of the largest banks in the world. Now, its clients will have access to the services provided by PayPal, who will offer an online digital account to Itaú card holders, as well as businesses that use its card processing unit. Speaking of the new partnership, general director of PayPal Brazil Paula Paschoal told Reuters about the company’s expectations […]Read more...
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Despite initial protests, Brazil reopens first ‘Queer Museum’
A temporary exhibition dedicated to the diversity of Brazil’s queer community has re-opened this month in Rio de Janeiro’s iconic Parque Lage. The exhibition, entitled “Queermuseum: cartographies of difference in Brazilian art,” sets out to explore expression of gender identity, diversity and difference through artistic mediums. It displays 264 pieces of artwork by 85 different artists, curated by Gaudêncio Fidélis. In Brazil, the meaning of the word ‘queer’ has seen a vast transformation over the last 20 years. Around the year 1980, it began to lose its pejorative connotations as members of the LBGTIQ+ community set about making their voices heard. […]Read more...
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Brazil’s 14 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in need of extra funding, say local governments
According to local government sources, some of Brazil’s most aesthetically striking and historical sites are in dire need of funds for repair. For this reason, 21 local governments across the country have teamed up to campaign for additional funding to be allocated for their upkeep. In many cities with World Heritage sites, governments blame a lack of infrastructural protection policies for the lack of care and attention with which historical areas are treated, which is sometimes visibly obvious. As a result, these towns become less attractive destinations for tourists, meaning less money is invested in them, eventually resulting in a […]Read more...
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A stitch of hope: Brazilian prisoners who learn crotchet surprise runways
Stuck in overcrowded cells with decaying facilities and under threat of violence: the reality of inmates in Brazil’s hopelessly over strained prisons hardly sounds like an artist’s retreat. Yet a creative initiative that started with crotchet lessons gives prisoners a stitch of hope and empowerment – and the fashion world a surprise.Read more...
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After effects of 2016 Olympic Games continue to impact upon Rio de Janeiro’s tourism industry
According to data from the Brazilian Association of Hotel Industries published by Brazilian newspaper O GLOBO, a total of 16 hotels in the city of Rio de Janeiro have been forced out of business over the last two years. Around two years ago, Rio’s tourist industry took serious measures to accommodate the 572,961 visitors who arrived to the city between July 1 and August 15 for the 2016 Olympic Games. Having failed on three separate occasions to win an Olympic bid, the city of Rio de Janeiro submitted a fourth campaign in 2007 under the guidance of ex-President Lula da […]Read more...
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Brazilian government sends small brands to exhibit at Colombiamoda
This week, Colombiamoda saw 24 Brazilian brands travel to Medellín to exhibit their products, supported by a government programme in association with Apex Brasil, the country’s Trade and Investment Promotion Agency. Other than showcasing the catwalk collections of up-and-coming Colombian designers, Colombiamoda is also an exposition opportunity for emerging brands across Latin America to present their products to an array of industry investors and generate new business leads over a three-day period. Displaying a wide variety of products, from activewear and swimwear to jewellery, Brazil Reports spoke to the budding Brazilian designers who had been given the opportunity to travel almost […]Read more...
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Brazil’s agricultural expansion opens up export opportunities to Mexico
At a press conference this Monday July 23, UN Food and Agriculture Organisation representative Alan Bojanic predicted that by 2050, Brazil will host approximately 70% of the world’s land growth for crops. As a result, Brazil alone will see 49 million hectares of land growth out of a total 69 million hectares across the globe. Environmentalists and health experts have warned that agricultural expansion to make way for crop cultivation is already a deep-rooted issue in Brazil, as a large contributor to deforestation as well as unmonitored pesticide poisoning. What’s more, those who speak out against these problems run the […]Read more...
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Vale do Dendê: the Salvador accelerator putting young Afro-Brazilians “on the front line of the city’s development”
Salvador, Bahia is unique to the rest of Brazil. Before the cities of Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro, it was the country’s first capital and the home of the first Portuguese settlers back in the 16th century. For around 300 years, Salvador served as the hub of the Brazilian slave trade, marking its culture, identity and demographics in an unparalleled way that is still visible to this day. Baianos are known for being particularly proud of their African heritage and the region remains famous for traditions such as capoeira, originally a form of dance invented by slaves and famously banned, […]Read more...
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Aftershocks of trucker strikes continue to impact upon Brazil’s economy
Brazil’s central bank has recently released a preview of this year’s GDP, revealing that in May the country’s economy fell 3.34% in comparison with the previous month, reported news outlet G1. This economic dip can almost entirely be attributed to the truckers’ strikes that continued for 10 consecutive days in late May earlier on this year. The strikes that took place, which demanded a reduction in the cost of diesel, cost the Brazilian government an enormous amount of money and ground the country to a halt, cutting off supplies of fuel and general goods. The central bank’s report takes into […]Read more...
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Brazilians selected to enter into Malala Yousafzai’s Gulmakai Network for education activism
It was announced yesterday, Jul. 10, that the first ever three Brazilians have been selected to be part of the Gulmakai Network, an initiative set up by Pakistani female education rights activist and Nobel Prize Winner Malala Yousafzai, who survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban aged 15. The Gulmakai Network is named as such because it is the pseudonym Malala used to write under for her BBC blog she wrote in Urdu. Aged just 11, it covered the challenges she faced as a female wanting to go to school in her hometown in Pakistan. The lucky Brazilians, who hail […]Read more...
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Brazil’s oldest mammal named ‘Brasilestes Stardusti’ in honour of David Bowie
A tooth-shaped fossil of Brazil’s oldest mammal, thought to have been between 70 and 87 million years old, has been found in the north-westerly region of the state of São Paulo, reported Science Daily. The prehistoric fossil, discovered by a team led by University of São Paulo professor Max Langer, has been named ‘Brasilestes Stardusti’ as a tribute to pop star David Bowie, who died in 2016. Its name is inspired by Bowie’s 1972 album ‘The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars,’ often shortened simply to Ziggy Stardust, which became Bowie’s nickname during his career. […]Read more...
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Brazilian fintech startup Nubank reaches 1.5 million digital bank accounts
Financial technology startup Nubank, reported to be valued at over $1 billion thanks to help from programmes such as Google Launchpad, is now able to offer digital bank accounts to people who are not already part of their client base. Having signed 1.5 million customers up to their digital banking service, all of whom are already holders of the company’s recognised tax-free purple credit card, they can now look to offer their product to members of the general public. Its digital bank accounts were first launched in October 2017 as part of a plan to offer a wider range of […]Read more...
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Digital music platform Napster appoints new Brazilian LatAm leader
Napster, the music platform that provides users with the opportunity to digitally stream music and download playlists, has appointed a new LatAm vice president, Brazilian Marcio Kanamaru. Aware of its competition, the platform, which is rivalled by younger digital music giants such as Spotify and Apple Music, has recently announced that it is currently adding 24,000 new tracks to its app every 24 hours. The $9.99 per month competitive subscription, which places the platform on a par with its main rivals, allows users to stream unlimited music on-demand, discover music that friends are listening to, skip unlimited songs, in addition […]Read more...
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Walmart Sells 80% of its Brazilian Stakes to Advent International
Walmart has announced that Brazilian private equity fund Advent International has agreed to invest in a majority stake, about 80%, in Walmart Brazil. While Walmart´s press release cites the reason for the deal is to “strengthen the business and position it for long-term success”, many are viewing the move as part of Walmart’s cleansing away of loss-making entities. According to the agreement, Advent will hold 80% of Walmart Brazil, while Walmart Inc. retains the remaining 20% after the transaction is complete. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval in Brazil.Read more...
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President Temer calls auction for oil drilling rights in light of recent protests
Yesterday, President Michel Temer launched another auction for drilling rights in Brazilian oil fields following national strikes over diesel prices and the recent resignation of Petrobras Chief Executive Pedro Parente. State-owned oil company Petrobras has traditionally championed competition from international oil companies, as governments have previously required it to have a 30% stake in oil ventures. In September of last year, President Temer first begun his efforts to lure in international investment by auctioning off Brazilian oil fields, as part of a wider effort to reduce state spending and end his country’s long-standing recession. Since then, there have been a […]Read more...
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Brazil: home to Latin America’s largest fintech ecosytem
Brazil now has the largest fintech ecosystem in Latin America with 377 startups, according to Mexico-based fintech accelerator Finnovista. Thanks to growth in sectors such as digital banking, trending & capital markets and lending & insurance, unprecedented numbers of new fintech startups have launched in Brazil over the last 18 months, reaching 188 in total. Recent years of close competition with Mexico have seen the two countries battle it out for the top spot in the Fintech sphere, however, Brazil’s recent surge in activity has meant the Portuguese-speaking country has come out on top. Brazil’s 48% annual fintech growth […]Read more...
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Brazilian fintech startup EBANX’s co-founder João Del Valle on the LatAm e-commerce industry
2018 is well on it’s way to being an extremely successful year for Brazilian startups, with more global expansion predicted than ever. Created in Brazil in 2012, cross-border payment processing startup EBANX is among the lucky group of growing fintech startups, offering end-to-end payment solutions across the entire cross-border e-commerce transaction flow. Having recently raised $30 million in funding, it provides over 100 Latin American local payment options for global merchants who are eager to expand throughout the region. EBANX has already enabled more than 33 million people in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador to access global products and services, and […]Read more...
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Petrobras falls $12 billion in market value as Chief Executive resigns
Pedro Parente, chief executive of state-lead oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA, has resigned this morning. Brazilian lorry drivers had only recently stopped striking over surging diesel prices, with protests crippling the entire country for over a week, when on 30th May, oil workers began a 72-hour walk-out on rigs and refineries. Although President Michel Temer’s government used force to intervene in the truckers’ strike, compromised on some of the lorry drivers’ demands and temporarily reduced the price of diesel by 10%, oil workers felt the need to articulate their concerns too. Gustavo Marseoli, from the Oil Workers’ union, told news source […]Read more...
