Brazil drives innovation with a focus on sustainability.

Brazil is intensifying its investment in technological innovation, focusing on sustainability, digitalization, and social impact. In recent days, several public and private initiatives have reinforced the country's commitment to developing local solutions for global challenges.

National Industry Innovation Conference

Launched by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) and Sebrae, the National Innovation Journey for Industry will travel the country from July 2025 to March 2026. The objective is to map the national ecosystem, identify sector demands, and consolidate proposals to boost the ecological and digital transition of Brazilian industry.

According to the Global Innovation Index 2025, Brazil ranks 52nd out of 139 economies and invests only 1.191 TPF3 of its GDP in research and development—half the world average. The Journey seeks to overcome this challenge by decentralizing the debate and valuing the potential of each region.

Web Summit 2025 and the internationalization of startups.

Serpro, in partnership with Sebrae and ApexBrasil, took Brazilian startups to Web Summit 2025 in Lisbon. The focus was on regional diversity, social inclusion, and female representation. The selected companies participated in a public call for proposals and received support for internationalization, reinforcing Brazil's role as a leader in digital government, information security, and data intelligence.

Innovation in agribusiness and mobility

In the agribusiness sector, nine Brazilian companies participated in Agritechnica 2025, the largest agricultural technology fair in Europe. Solutions such as selective spraying with AI, which reduces herbicide use by up to 95%, are already being adopted on more than 200 farms in Latin America.

In the mobility sector, Motiva (formerly CCR) announced its new innovation strategy, with an investment of R$13 million in pilot projects in engineering, supply chain, and market intelligence. The company created an Innovation, Digital, and Artificial Intelligence Committee to accelerate the digital and sustainable transformation of the sector.

Public policies and investments

The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI) announced an investment of R$200 million in science and technology in the state of Pará, focusing on AI, data science and innovation. Up to 47 innovation projects will be selected, each receiving R$150,000 in grants and scholarships from CNPq.

Impacts and challenges

• Strengthening the network of cooperation between companies, research centers, and government.
• Increasing the international visibility of Brazilian solutions.
• Structural challenges, such as low investment in R&D and the need for greater integration between regions.

Photo by Jin-Woo Lee on Unsplash