The Special Secretary for Productivity, Employment and Competitiveness of the Ministry of Economy (Sepec/ME), Carlos Da Costa, announced on 01/21/2020, in Davos, Switzerland, the installation of the first center affiliated to the World Economic Forum focused on Industry 4.0 (C4IR) in Brazil. The Center is expected to start operating in the first half of 2020.
The goals are to encourage the adoption of new technologies and improve Brazil's insertion in global value chains, increasing the competitiveness and productivity of Brazilian companies.
This is an initiative of the federal government (Ministry of Economy – SEPEC), the Government of the State of São Paulo (Secretariat for Economic Development) and the World Economic Forum, which aims to accelerate and scale the adoption of emerging technologies, such as the Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence, addressing key economic, social and development challenges. C4IR Brasil will be a public-private partnership, conceived by the Ministry of Economy and the Government of the State of São Paulo and supported by companies with a global presence.
At the press conference held in Switzerland, presentations were given by: Marisol Argueta, Head of Latin America and Member of the Executive Board of the World Economic Forum; Carlos Da Costa, Special Secretary for Productivity, Employment and Competitiveness of the Ministry of Economy (Sepec/ME); and João Doria, governor of São Paulo.
Thirst
The new technology center will have its headquarters installed at the Technological Research Institute (IPT) in São Paulo, as part of the International Center for Technology and Innovation (CITI) project, which aims to create the “Brazilian Silicon Valley” in São Paulo. A model already adopted by the WEF will be used, with financing of actions by the private sector. The center will bring together a multidisciplinary team made up of employees from the companies supporting the project, accelerating the exchange of experiences and the adoption of new technologies.
The Forum's global network has affiliated centers in six other countries – Norway, Colombia, Israel, South Africa, Rwanda and Saudi Arabia – and global centers in the United States, China, Japan and India. The teams at the new Brazilian center will exchange knowledge with the other units and, thus, will participate in the global process of adopting new technologies.
Initially, the center in Brazil will work with data policies, Industry 4.0, internet of things (IoT), smart cities and blockchain, distributed ledger technology that aims at decentralization as a security measure.
According to Da Costa, Brazil is still far from maturity in Industry 4.0. “Only 7.5% of companies use Industry 4.0 with excellence, and only 2% of Brazilian companies are in the most advanced stage of Industry 4.0, which gives the dimension of the importance of this partnership”, he said.
Small and Medium Enterprises
To insert Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) into the fourth industrial revolution, there will be specific actions. Starting in 2020, a group of 130 small and medium-sized manufacturing companies will be the first to test this proposed development approach proposed by the World Economic Forum, the Ministry of Economy and the State of São Paulo. The goal is to reach a total of two thousand companies by 2021, within the More Productive Brazil Program of Sepec/ME.
SMEs represent 98.5% of companies in Brazil and more than 90% of all companies in the world. In emerging markets, these companies are key drivers of economic opportunity and social mobility. Seven out of ten jobs are created by small and medium-sized companies, according to the World Bank.
The pilot program is testing 11 specific policy interventions, including innovative financial support, access to expert support with industry collaboration, and employee awareness and training in skills needed in Industry 4.0.
EN 
PT 
