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Understand why Brazilian startups are opening offices in Europe

QuintoAndar announced last week that it will open its first international office in Lisbon, Portugal. The Brazilian company is the most recent to embark on the trend of opening work spaces in Europe without necessarily having operations in the region. Earlier, Nubank opened the first international technology hub in Berlin, Germany, and Loggi opened an office in Lisbon just before the pandemic.

“Europe has been trying to establish itself, together with the United States and China, as a technological and sustainable hub”, says Arthur Igreja, a specialist in the innovation and technology market. “It’s a strategic move and, in a way, Europe has always been a target because of the quality of life and strong currency.”

diversity in the company

This movement of companies can help in the globalization of the team of employees, in addition to facilitating commercial exchanges and contact with business trends. According to the study “Getting to Equal 2019: creating a culture that drives innovation”, by Accenture consultancy, inclusive and diverse companies are 11 times more innovative and have employees six times more creative.

“A global team brings different experiences, mindsets and cultures. This is critical to innovation. It takes new seasonings to create new dishes, and this fusion of cuisines helps to leverage these companies”, says Arthur Igreja.

Renee Mauldin, director of human resources at Nubank, agrees that an international presence expands diversity. “We found that global talent pools complement our teams, attract those who want to be in a global company and want to learn from each other,” he says.

Brazil and other Latin American countries have a growing technology market, but Europe is still a hotbed of good professionals. According to Gabriel Braga, CEO of QuintoAndar, the change also facilitates access to these professionals.

There are foreigners who are in Europe who are interested in what we are doing in Brazil, but do not have the possibility of moving there. With a European hub, we can hire these people

Gabriel Braga, CEO of QuintoAndar

For Igreja, however, the company needs to become known to attract professionals. “Nubank, for example, is very well known and targeted in Brazil, but if it is hiring people in Europe and is not at all known in the region, it will be difficult to recruit. It is important that, even if a company is just exploring a market, it has a presence on the European continent”.

Linked to trends and incentives

Church remembers that Brazil is a continental country and, therefore, there is little contact with the culture of bordering countries. In Europe, it’s the opposite, with a lot of exchange between countries. So, even though Loggi is in Lisbon and Nubank in Germany, companies have access to knowledge from different territories.

We are able to connect to different technology ecosystems, allowing us to quickly study and apply global trends

Renee Mauldin, do Nubank

And each European city can represent some attraction, according to the sector and the expectations of Brazilian companies. Berlin, Germany, for example, is a reference in digital banking.

“We want to be close to other innovative companies and communities. That’s why we look for places that are flourishing with new ideas and in line with our fast-paced startup culture,” adds Mauldin.

Portugal, chosen by Loggi and QuintoAndar, from a business point of view, is like a smooth entry into the European market. “It is a country whose culture and language are similar to ours, in addition to investing to attract more innovation companies here”, says Igreja. In the last five years, more than 80 technology centers have been installed in Portuguese territory and more than 8,500 jobs have been created.

“For the technology group, the country has been highlighted by the government stimulus, which has an immigration incentive program called Tech Visa”, explains Eduardo Thuler, from Loggi.

Created in 2019, the “visa” reduces bureaucracy when hiring foreign professionals in the technology market. Portugal also offers tax incentives and income tax discounts for residents of other nationalities.

Change may show Brazil’s potential

According to Arthur Igreja, this movement towards the internationalization of Brazilian companies is positive for the country.

It’s cool to see unicorns exploring the world. It’s a way of showing Brazil’s potential and may arouse the interest of other companies

Arthur Church

The technology hub of Fifth floor should start operating in March 2022 with around 50 employees.

Nubank already opened the first international technology hub in Berlin, but it already has teams in the United States, Argentina and Uruguay, in addition to Mexico and Colombia, where Nubank has operations. Currently, the digital bank has employees of 46 different nationalities, according to the company.

Loggi, the delivery platform, opened an office in Lisbon in 2020, just before the pandemic. Currently, the hub has 60 tech people. “We want to reach, in 2022, 150 employees in Lisbon”, says Eduardo Thuler, vice president of product and leader of the office in Portugal.

According to the executive, just under half of the employees are Brazilian. The second largest group is the Portuguese. There are also employees from Egypt, Romania and Korea.

Reference: CNN Brasil

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