Interviews

Still time for Brazil exports

by Mark Rowe

It’s not too late to do business in Brazil for the Rio Olympics in 2016 and even the World Cup in the summer – and you can find opportunities all over the country, not only in Rio de Janeiro, a seminar for security exporters heard.

More in the April print issue of Professional Security magazine.

Among the speakers at an event by MEI (Major Events International) at the London offices of defence and security trade association ADS Group was Marco Alves of MEI, who has run a security business in Brazil. Speakers at the event described ways of doing business well – and badly – in Brazil; and how it’s no good jetting in and telling Brazilian businesses or would-be partners that you are ready to fly back any time.

While Marco Alves admitted that Brazil has a well-publicised problem with violent crime and murder, he suggested that it’s a good place to start doing business in the rest of South America. As for the upcoming World Cup, a typical example of security work might be a UK VIP wanting to go to the football tournament, with his son, and who wants to hire a plane; and he needs security, whether armed or not; and a car, again, whether armoured or not. Alves spoke of a shortage of expertise in cyber-security, crowd management, security training and auditing, and in niche technologies: “Brazilians love gadgets.” Lessons from the 2014 World Cup will inform Rio 2016; but security business opportunities are not only in Rio, he pointed out. The north and north-east are developing new ports, regional airports, prisons and in the oil and gas sector.

As for guarding, the multi-nationals G4S and Garda have gone into Brazil by finding partners. MEI advised potential UK exporters looking for a Brazilian partner to do their due diligence, and above all to prepare, to do business properly, the ‘boring stuff’ such as background checking. MEI, who offer services for businesses looking to work in the field of mayor events such as the Olympics and sporting world tournaments – such as the Rugby World Cup in Britain in 2015 – made the point that London 2012 does not give the UK the automatic right to sell things in Brazil. France is particularly looking to that market.

Visit http://www.majoreventsinternational.com/

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