Until this Saturday 1st, Instituto Caldeira, in partnership with Meta – a technology company focused on digital transformation – is conducting an immersion program in the Canadian innovation ecosystem. Known as the Toronto-Waterloo Corridor, the locations are home to everything from start-up centers to tech giants such as IBM, Google and Microsoft. The objective of the mission is to connect the gacho ecosystem to local opportunities, pluralities and demands.

To this end, in search of business and learning opportunities, 20 businessmen are on the trip. The project is supported by the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service of Rio Grande do Sul (Sebrae-RS), which subsidizes 50% of onsite expenses for gacha startups. Recognized for its diversity of nationalities and cultures, Canada currently has 25% of its skilled workforce made up of immigrants. In total, there are more than 15,000 technology companies. “The idea is to bring the gacho ecosystem closer to global players. To build a bridge to facilitate and encourage access to new technologies and cultural practices that the country has to offer”, underlines Pedro Valrio, CEO of the gacho hub.

The immersion began with attendance at the Collision Conference, a Toronto-based technology conference that discusses the future of innovation and sheds light on change. Adam Selipsky, CEO of Amazon Web Services (AWS); Assaf Rappaport, CEO of Wiz; Geoffrey Hinton, pioneer of Artificial Intelligence; and Tara Bunch, head of global operations at Airbnb, were some of the speakers in the edition which ends this Thursday 29.

partnership signing

One of the highlights of the trip was the signed agreement between Caldeira and PYCAP, which took place on Monday 27. The Canadian incubator has over BRL 20 million in assets under management, 192 members and 12 shares of company in its portfolio. The Memorandum of Intent (MOU) was signed by the CEO of Instituto Caldeira, Pedro Valrio, and by the CEO of the Canadian institution, Stuart Browne.

For Valrio, the partnership is another move towards consolidating the institute as a global hub. “We will work to attract Canadian startups to our Open Innovation challenges and, at the same time, provide access to Brazil so that they can also carry out initiatives in synergy”, he explains.