Brazil Hub: support for internationalization

CCBC’s initiative contributes to Hurb’s expansion in the Canadian market


By Sérgio Siscaro

To facilitate the installation of Brazilian companies in Canada, with emphasis on infrastructure support, documentation and facilitation of partnerships with Canadian companies and institutions. This is the purpose of the Brazil Hub initiative, launched this year by the Chamber of Commerce Brazil-Canada (CCBC) – which, by building this “bridge” with the Canadian business ecosystem, acts strategically to support the internationalization of Brazilian companies.

The Brazil Hub offers access to the Chamber’s network of contacts, identifying potential partners for business or research and development (R&D) projects and clients in Canada. In addition, market research is carried out to determine the best strategy to be adopted by Brazilian companies wishing to enter the Canadian market, and networking events are held to give greater visibility to representatives of Brazilian companies, their brands and products. The initiative is equivalent to Canada Hub, through which CCBC provides support to Canadian companies that wish to establish themselves in Brazil.

An important component of Brasil Hub is its Canada Business Integration Program (Pinc). The process of soft landing in the Canadian market is facilitated by means of meetings with specialists, access to the country’s community of entrepreneurs, and support material for the company’s business strategy. In parallel, Pinc also enables Brazilian companies to participate in webinars with Canadian professionals.

Positive Experience

One company that has benefited from the services offered by CCBC through the Brazil Hub is the online travel platform Hurb (Hotel Urbano). With more than 20 million registered travelers, 35,000 destinations around the globe, and more than 12 million fans on Facebook, Hurb sees the internationalization of its operations as a natural way to expand its business. An important step in this direction had already been taken by opening offices in Portugal. Now Hurb is opening an office in Montreal, inside the Brazil Hub, in order to be closer to the Canadian innovation centers and attract talent in the technology area.

According to Hurb’s head of education, Ana Feliciano, the CCBC initiative allows us to continue with our strategic plan to expand the platform. “We want to continue our strategic planning, and with the Brazil Hub we will have the chance to raise important funds to continue investing in technology based on the profile of the platform’s consumers, especially in Canadian territory,” she says. The company’s CEO, João Ricardo Mendes, agrees, pondering that the arrival in Canada will allow Hurb to be closer to research and innovation projects and partnerships in the area of artificial intelligence.

Through the Brazil Hub, Hurb has already begun its activities with support for structuring and developing its business in Canadian territory – which is an important contribution for the company to integrate itself more quickly into the Canadian innovation ecosystem.