Florianópolis in focus. Because the island has become an important tech hub.
The island has been attracting people from all over the world, specially to surf its waves, relax on its white-sand beaches and enjoy the great atmosphere and good vibes.
However, Florianópolis is much more than just another holiday destination. It has become a strong and mature technology hub, where startups flourish continuously. Today, it counts on 4,000 companies making an annual profit of R$6.4 billions (USD 1.65 billions), contributing to develop a market that grows 15% each year and employs 16,500 workers. This has turned the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina the state with the lowest unemployment rates in the country. Impressive, when thinking of a little island with no more than 480,000 inhabitants.
But, why has “Floripa” become such an important tech ecosystem?
Let’s dig a bit deeper.
The story of this innovative ecosystem started about thirty years ago, when the first companies set their businesses up on the island. People finishing the University couldn’t find places to work. So they decided to create jobs by opening their own businesses. They started with an annual turnover of R$28,000 (approximately USD 7300), far from the actual profit of R$6.4 billions, as Daniel Leipnitz president of the Technology Catarinense Association (ACATE), states. However, with their courageous initiative and entrepreneurial spirit, they took the first steps towards the development of the innovative tech hub that Florianopolis has become. Great events, talented people, incredible landscapes and nature, and a collaborative network are some of the reasons that may explain this phenomenon.
The coworking boom
Being a technology hub located at a scenic island surrounded by beautiful beaches means becoming a great place to work for talented people. Some of them are freelancers searching for a better place to live, a place where they can find a balance between personal and professional life. Entrepreneurs also choose this destination as a place to set up their companies or personal projects. That is the reason why Floripa is witnessing a coworking boom, through many spaces that allows professionals to share inspirational and motivational rooms.
Professionals who just need a desk and internet connection for work fit in perfectly at such places, where they can socialise, network and collaborate with one another. And of course, if it is happening in cities around the world, it should happen as well in Florianópolis. According to Coworking Brasil, in 2017, there were more than twenty coworking spaces along the island. And for the coming weeks, two more are going to open with the same objective: A Fabrica Working Bar and the Impact Hub. Just coming by one of these interesting places allows one to feel the talented and promising atmosphere that this ecosystem experiences right now.
“The coworking boom is so important for the ecosystem since it facilitates that many entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small companies can find a place to network, exchange knowledge and support each other, besides of working. This creates a network of cooperation and collaboration that contributes enormously to the tech hub in Florianópolis. Moreover, you can find events, workshops, talks, and meet-ups taking place usually in these spaces. Currently, we can find more than 20 corworking spaces in the city, which is a consequence and at the same time the reason to understand why Floripa has become such an ecosystem”. Letícia Medeiros, Head of Sales Operations na Umbler.
The great scenery
Florianópolis, as the capital of the state of Santa Catarina, counts on many incentives and benefits that promote and push the development and expansion of this technological ecosystem. The sector represents 5.6% of the state economy with its R$15.53 billions (approximately USD 4 billion) of turnover, according to a recently published study by ACATE.
Just taking a look at how the tech hub has been developing in the last decades, one feels that the people are mainly responsible for the effervescence of this hub. Thanks to an incredible entrepreneurial and innovative mindset, Florianópolis has become the second most entrepreneurial city in Brazil, on the heels of São Paulo, according to a recent study published by Endeavor. Competition is understood here in a different way, according Leipnitz from ACATE. 99% of entrepreneurs in Floripa are willing to share and exchange knowledge to anyone who asks for it. In that sense, cooperation and collaboration among professionals has created a network that has mostly helped the ecosystem grow unstoppably, becoming an example to follow for many other hubs. A new mindset that in the end benefits everyone, but especially, the island.
The leaders in this growing ecosystem are Neoway, Exact Sales, and Resultados Digitais (RD), who play an important role in the Brazilian startup scene. The case of RD is quite interesting, a company that started in 2011 with 5 people, and today has more than 700 employees and offers services in more than 20 countries. Now RD plays its role as a reference for many startups, contributing enormously to the industry through the most important event taking place in the city, known as the RD Summit.
Recently, another giant joined the hub. Peixe Urbano moved its operational center to Florianópolis. And not only Brazilian companies are following this trend, but American firms operating in Brazil have also decided to establish their headquarters in the island. This is the case of dozens of companies, like the app developer, Arc Touch.
But it doesn’t end here. The number of companies with an eye on Floripa is increasing daily, and so is the number of open vacancies in the IT sector. But to solve this demand, three recognised public universities — UFSC, UDESC and IFSC — with great courses in engineering, design and business, are in charge of developing the talent that will impact positively in the startup ecosystem over the coming years. The professional and skilled talent concentration is another fact that convinces companies to set up shop there. Along with education, there are two cyber and innovation parks, Alfa and Sapiens Parque, that expect to welcome more than 25,000 tech talents from 400 companies. The Sapiens Parque is an initiative of the Brazilian government to promote science and technology in the country, whit a value of R$1.3 billions (USD 340 millions).
Last but not least, there are impressive investments, incentives and initiatives to support this hub.
Florianópolis has two large business incubators - ACATE and StartupSC, accelerators such as Darwin Starter or Cventures, and ten research institutes. Together with dozens of events held monthly to exchange knowledge on business, startups and entrepreneurship.
Summing it all up, the great education through the programs taught in the Universities, the high percentage of entrepreneurs concentrated in the city, the accelerators and incubators promoting and pushing the ecosystem, the high quality of life in such a beautiful island, the characteristics of collaboration and shared networking, and the maturity of the market, are some of the reasons why, in 2009, Florianópolis was considered by the BBC as the Latin American Silicon Valley. And this great combination of entrepreneurial ecosystem, innovation, technology and beautiful landscape has made Umbler consider Floripa as a great choice for opening an office. Currently, we already have two members of our sales team working remotely from the “technopolis”, and who knows, soon enough, we’ll be announcing more vacancies based in Florianópolis to make our dream of being a part of the island’s incredible ecosystem come true.
