Future gazing à la Brazilian

Last updated: 19 March 2014

So, over the course of our series of posts on Digital Brazil so far we have seen the digital potential of this rapidly-expanding nation. From its fast-growing economy, the shift of more than 30 million citizens into the ‘middle-class’ income bracket and the increasing digital literacy among all Brazilians, from working classes to the rich, Brazil’s digital potential cannot be denied.

Many projects are already in place, leading to Brazil slowly but surely catching up with the Western world when it comes to using technology to advance services and lifestyles as well as boost the economy. As we will show here though, this will continue into the future.

Brazil is already ahead of others when it comes to innovation in agriculture, oil production and ethanol technology. But in terms of digital, how Brazilians adopt technology to their cultural and economic needs and realities is more important than the digital technology they produce. This is an emerging economic power with a can-do mentality and a voracious appetite for the latest advances.

Let’s see what is in store for the future:

Personalized financial services – banks are no longer just a supplier service but are becoming a provider of knowledge as they offer financial education information and services. There are still a lot of people in Brazil who don’t have a bank account, so peer-to-peer financing will become more important.

4G – with Brazil due to host the 2014 World Cup, the government hopes to have 4G in place in time to be able to take the crown of the first ‘mobile’ World Cup.

Spending and saving on the internet – with internet banking and ecommerce moving to smartphones and tablets and internet services available on digital television, the ability to both spend and save online will help foster even more awareness of financial accounting to boost the Brazilian economy and give its citizens more financial education.

Growing convergence between commerce and social networks – as one of the most sociable countries with nearly 60% of ‘Class C’ on social media, Brazil offers a prime opportunity to track the convergence between commerce and social networking. As social networking becomes more available on smartphones and tablets, the opportunity will increase further.

Ultimately, however, none of this will be feasible without the infrastructure being in-place and widely accessible. The Brazilian government already has a response to this: it is working on a project to make WiFi universally available – even on beaches! This will further increase digital access making Brazil a hot technology and innovation hub – and most certainly ‘one to watch’.

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