The attractiveness of Brazil for Canadian companies and of Canada for Brazilian companies is unquestionable. In almost all economic sectors there are opportunities to be seized and success to be achieved through their presence in both markets.

In theory everything is quite clear. In practice, however, starting an operation in another country poses challenges ranging from the most prosaic, such as having a business address, to the most complex, such as developing a network of relationships that are needed to generate business. To address these typical aspects of soft-landing for companies, CCBC developed the Canada Hub initiative, which functions as a welcoming center for Canadian companies in Brazil.

“While assisting Canadian entrepreneurs who wish to operate in Brazil, we realized the importance of creating a Canadian friendly environment that is tailor-made for their needs; and that’s the main goal of the Canada Hub,” explains CCBC’s Chief Officer for Institutional Relations and Business Affairs, Paulo de Castro Reis.“Quite often, operating in another country is something these companies have never done before and, therefore, they need the support of a partner with good knowledge of the characteristics and opportunities of the local market. When we detected this demand, we started to develop this set of initiatives that combine the physical facilities in our headquarters with CCBC’s know-how in order to facilitate business development and operations in both countries”, he explains.

The starting point for this is the credibility of CCBC, which has been dedicating all its efforts to making trade relations between the two countries prosper for decades. This track record of success provides greater ease for companies that are about to make an investment in internationalization.

The second element of the Canada Hub relevance equation is convenience. Seemingly simple things like having a business address in Brazil – which is mandatory to start submitting a company’s documentation – are on the list of services offered by the Hub. Some of the conveniences made available are rooms for meetings or presentations, mail management, and virtual assistant. “What sets us apart from a co-working facility is our specific knowledge of the steps that a company from one country needs to go through to operate in the other country,” says the head of Institutional Relations. “More than acting as a guide along the paths of bureaucracy, the Hub shows newcomer companies ways to integrate into the ecosystem of their sector”, Castro Reis highlights. “We assist in mapping business opportunities; we recommend approved service providers who are part of our relationship network; and we also leverage the networking of newcomer entrepreneurs and executives,” he adds.

Another important differentiating factor is the support of CCBC’s Business Development department, with a team specialized in activating the presence of companies from one country into the other and that, in addition to identifying opportunities, works to create agendas to help generate business.

nies such as 3rdi Lab, in the province of Saskatchewan, specialized in technology for museums with augmented reality and virtual reality. The company just opened developing a project in a partnership with the Catavento museum in São Paulo.

In Canada, the initiative will be called Brasil Hub and its launch is scheduled for April in Montreal. There, the Hub will have a particularly attractive feature: it will be a bridge for Brazilian companies to seek partnerships with the various acceleration programs that exist in Canada, as well as with government programs and sectorial associations.

“It is important to make it clear that this opportunity is available for any type of company, no matter their size or business sector,” adds Castro Reis.