In February Invest Ottawa signed a joint agreement for developing a soft landing platform between Brazil and Canada. Plug is  Brazil’s most active entrepreneurial ecosystem. The two organizations will bridge the efforts of both countries to enhance and enrich their respective communities.

Invest Ottawa and Plug have spent nearly two years developing the framework for this partnership, since the support of innovation and the encouragement of entrepreneurship are key factors to the economic development of both countries.  This soft-landing partnership will:

• Find and prep start-ups and companies to take part in an incubation exchange
• Providing  work space for visiting companies to develop their core products/service
• Help parties connect and navigate into their local business networks
• Conduct webinars, seminars and conference to promote business opportunities
• Organize annual visits that include interested peers, startups and companies, to Ottawa, Canada and Sao Paulo Brazil.

Plug captured the moment in video and spoke with their Executive Partner, Bruno Freitas, who offered his thoughts on what this landmark agreement means for the two cities:

“This partnership represents a tremendous opportunity for startups and SMEs to interested in breaking into the either the Canadian or Brazilian market to leverage the soft-landing services provided by both Plug and Invest Ottawa,” said Bruce Lazenby, President and CEO, Invest Ottawa. “When travelling abroad, we always pitch Ottawa as an ideal gateway into the North American market the same can be said of São Paolo for companies looking to expand into Latin America. And now with this new partnership, we can assist in establishing relationships and connecting into local business networks. It’s a win, win for everyone involved.”

This is the second incubation/soft-landing type partnership established by Invest Ottawa with an international partner.  The agreements facilitate access to a market of more than 1.5 Billion consumers for Ottawa and Canadian Companies.  Establishing relationships with like-minded organizations in our key markets is part of our ongoing, award winning international outreach strategy.

Read More About Opportunities for Ottawa Companies in Brazil Here: