ICTs mean inclusion, sustainability, innovation, and are the foundation of a sustainable future - By Gao Kexin, CEO at Huawei Brazil
06 FOR A GREENER, FAIRER AND MUCH BETTER WORLD
Technology plays a fundamental role for companies in addressing challenges related to risk management and promoting social, environmental and governance opportunities. More than anything, the ESG agenda is a driver of innovation.
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DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IS IMPERATIVE FOR THE COUNTRY
INtERvIEw - Chico Saboya, President of Embrapii, warns Brazil to go all in artificial intelligence
PERFECT STORM PASSES THROUGH ICTS
The combination of sustainability practices with the technology sector is the main strategy for Brazil to find its path to development. the key now is to coordinate actions between government and society.
TECH4ALL: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TO CHANGE LIVES
Huawei uses AI to monitor the impacts of climate change and biodiversity in mangroves in Pará. the project will impact 1,298 families who rely on fishing the caranguejo-uçá crab species. Brazil with Open Schools Project has gained support of the country’s Ministry of Education.
24 A SUCCESSFUL PAIRING: EDUCATION AND TECHNOLOGY
Huawei Brazil brings connectivity and technological training to schools. the company offers internet access in classrooms at public high schools in four states: Bahia, Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais and Rio Grande do Norte.
28 WHEN QUALIFICATION MAKES A DIFFERENCE
Living in Bahia, one of the most violent cities in Brazil, professor Givanildo J. Santos says qualification is changing local reality
Veloso Net brings services such as PIX to the local population, but admits: there are still huge challenges
HOW FAR DO WOMEN GO? AS FAR AS THEY WANT TO GO!
Huawei’s technology leadership training program will benefit women from all over Brazil with a new differential: social inclusion
WE READY FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE?
More than an option, building a better world is a necessity for Brazil and the world. Experts point out: technology is the catalyst for a future in which humanity and the planet thrive together.
SOLAR ENERGY IS BRAZIL’S SECOND DRIVING FORCE
In three years of operation in Brazil, Huawei Digital Power unit helped generate 3.9 billion kWh and reduced the country’s carbon emissions by 1.8 million tons, equivalent to planting 2.5 million trees
LETTER TO THE READER
G AO K
CEO at Huawei
HUAWEI’S COMMITMENT IN THE COUNTRY IS TO SUPPORT tHE DIGItAL AND ENERGY tRANSFORMAtION OF tHE BRAZILIAN ECONOMY
IN APRIL of this year, I became the leader of Huawei Brazil, coming from a long international experience in the company, which I joined in 2001. I arrive in the country to continue a work that, in recent years, has managed to bring our network infrastructure and connectivity solutions to 95% of the Brazilian population.
Huawei’s commitment in Brazil is to support the accomplishment of its full economic and social development through the digital and energy transformation of its economy. Our company is in the country to continue to collaborate in the construction of an increasingly connected, inclusive, intelligent and sustainable society.
We are ready to think about the future and this includes a major revolution in the energy matrix around the world. In six years of operation in Brazil, Huawei Digital Power, our Solar and Photovoltaic Energy unit, and its digital technologies have helped generate 3.9 billion kWh (kilowatt hours) and reduced the country’s carbon emissions by 1.8 million tons, equivalent to 2.5 million trees planted.
Information and Communication Technologies are synonymous with innovation and a digital and greener world. The sustainable future—the theme of this magazine—requires strategies and commitments from companies and public and private entities. Huawei participates in this joint effort.
For the academic and president of the Brazilian Company for Industrial
Information and Communication Technologies are synonymous with innovation and a digital and greener world. The sustainable future— theme of this magazine— requires strategies and commitments from companies and public and private entities. Huawei participates in this joint effort.
In six years of operation in Brazil, Huawei Digital Power and its digital technologies have helped generate 3.9 billion kWh (kilowatt hours) and reduced the country’s carbon emissions by 1.8 million tons, equivalent to 2.5 million trees planted.
Research and Innovation (Embrapii), Chico Saboya, it is imperative for Brazil to make the digital transformation. Huawei knows that much has been and is being done, but there is still much to be done.
We have been working in Brazil for 26 years, and we understand that it is necessary to have effective actions for digital and, by extension, social and economic inclusion. For this reason, the Huawei ICT Academy is one of the initiatives also present in Brazil. We are pleased to share with you how Information and Communication Technology education is changing the real lives of underprivileged or disabled youth in the country, and how we are bringing training and connectivity to classrooms in public schools. And we’re not stopping there.
Concern for the environment is expressed in the Tech4ALL program, developed globally by Huawei since 2019 with more than 40 partners. One of our first projects is the monitoring, via artificial intelligence, of climate change and biodiversity on the Marajó Island, in Pará.
We have also made efforts to bring broadband connectivity to the most remote places in the country, such as the North Region. We partner with all national and regional operators and want to ensure that this successful policy continues.
The sustainable future exists. It’s up to all of us to build it!
FOR A GREENER, FAIRER AND MUCH BETTER WORLD
Technology plays a fundamental role for companies in addressing challenges related to risk management and promoting social, environmental and governance opportunities. More than anything, the ESG agenda is a driver of innovation.
THE cALL for countries to come together to end poverty, protect the environment and climate, and ensure that people everywhere can enjoy peace and prosperity has been a major agenda of the United Nations (UN). To this end, the entity has established 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are interconnected and aim to be a plan agreed upon by all world leaders to create a greener, fairer and better world by 2030.
Technology, experts argue, plays a key role in this task force to meet new sustainability demands. In Brazil, the agenda related to risk management and the promotion of social, environmental and governance opportunities is on the horizon of companies, especially those listed on stock exchanges or members of the financial system.
The Central Bank, for example, requires the disclosure of the Social, Environmental and Climate Risks and Opportunities Report (GRSAC) of the institutions it authorizes to operate. B3 stock exchanges, on the other hand, maintains a set of sustainability indices that, in addition to serving as attractive instruments for investors committed to this topic, help encourage companies to incorporate ESG issues into their business strategies.
With ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) initiatives on the rise, what is the role of Information and Communication Technologies to guide companies in these areas? Like a mantra among business leaders, ESG is leading companies of all sizes to establish processes and strategies to address demands. After all, the new corporate order puts ESG at the center of strategic decisions, and environmental, social, and governance issues have an impact in the same way as profitability.
“ICTs are key; whether you realize it or not, they will be there,” summarizes Affonso Nina, chairman of the Association of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Digital Technologies Companies (Brasscom), which has about 80 member companies based in Brazil and in several countries, with different business models. “From sensors that act to control pollutant and waste emissions to connecting companies in the circular economy, it is the technology that makes the gear work, whether in weather forecasting, data collection and processing, or in simulation of social and
environmental impacts and in the mitigation of risks for ESG,” he says.
BEYOND INNOVATION
Technology is embedded in the means of production, and is present in all economic activities that, to a greater or lesser extent, depend on it or are more efficient from its use.
“There is no issue in today’s society that is not connected with technology; and ESG is no different,” says Edson Barbero, professor at Fundação Instituto de Administração (FIA), who also points out that it is necessary to understand
what ESG is in order not to have a reductionist view of the subject. “It’s not just performance measurement or indicators. ESG factors came from the financial market, but I understand that ESG goes towards deeper transformations, impact on reducing emissions, diversity, seeing beyond what we typically see”, he lists.
“Establishing quality projects, having mechanisms for measuring results and adopting new technologies is essential,” says Hugo Tadeu, professor and director at the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Dom Cabral Foundation. “This is a cutting-edge research topic
It is the technology that makes the gear work, whether in weather forecasting, data collection and processing, or in the simulation of social and environmental impacts, and in the mitigation of ESG risks.
AFFONSO NINA Chairman at Brasscom
B4 BETS ON THE CARBON CREDIT MARKET
“MOST COMpANIES think ESG is planting trees, but it’s not; It is a long-term work, and involves shifts in consciousness. It’s not just changing the plastic cup; It is to provide conditions for companies that sell plastic cups to change with the help of the invoice of those who are paying. It needs a supplier inclusion plan,” explains Odair Rodrigues, CEO of B4, organization created to act as a facilitator in the carbon credit market and which bills itself as the first climate action exchange in Brazil.
Rodrigues reinforces that companies that want to implement sustainable actions with a real positive impact on the environment need to understand what they are doing, so that they can create their own projects and start their actions. “It’s not buying carbon credits and allocating them to an investment portfolio to show that the company has an ESG practice,” says the CEO, adding that it must be a real commitment from companies, with leaders taking responsibility to reduce their carbon footprint.
Launched in August 2023, in the city of São Paulo, B4 totals about 15.8 million tons of carbon credits that are under analysis to be listed on its platform.
It is an extremely valuable market that is growing very strongly, not only in Brazil, but all over the world. B4 expects to move up to R$ 12 billion in carbon credits in the first year of operation. To this end, it is expected the national regulation of the carbon market, a system of exchange of emission bonds already used in several countries and which aims to reduce total greenhouse gas emissions.
restricted to a small group of large companies, with availability for the acquisition of talent and resources in networks,” highlights Tadeu.
For Bruna Dias, manager at Strategy& (part of the PwC network) and specialist in sustainability, technology is related to the monitoring of initiatives or the feasibility of actions. “It is impossible to imagine a scenario in which information technology is not part of the ESG agenda. In addition to supporting the management of indicators, data technology can be used to make processes and energy use more efficient,” she points out.
The executive says that traceability is a
ESG is in line with deeper transformations, impact on emissions reduction, diversity and seeing beyond what we typically see.
EDSON BARBERO Professor at Fundação Instituto de Administração (FIA)
Establishing quality projects, having mechanisms to measure results and adopting new technologies is essential.
HUGO TADEU
Professor and director at the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Fundação Dom Cabral
relevant element to ensure sustainability in the value chain and, to address it, technological development is vital. “Blockchain is an example of applied technology.”
“Technology provides tools to collect, analyze, and report on data related to the environment, social issues, and corporate governance. This allows companies to monitor and improve their performance in areas such as reducing carbon emissions, diversity and inclusion in the workplace, and transparency in governance,” said Márcio Kanamaru, Lead Partner at KPMG’s technology, media and telecommunications
CRUCIAl pIllAR
INFORMATION TECHNOlOGy (IT) is a crucial pillar for companies to address their ESG agendas:
DATA COllECTION AND ANAlySIS: enables companies to collect relevant data in various ESG areas, such as carbon emissions, water consumption, diversity and inclusion, among others. Analyzing this data identifies patterns, trends and opportunities for improvement.
REpORTING & TRANSpARENCy: facilitates the creation and disclosure of sustainability and governance reports, allowing companies to transparently communicate their practices and performance related to ESG goals.
OpERATIONAl EFFICIENCy: increases the operational efficiency of companies by reducing resource consumption, optimizing processes and minimizing waste.
ENGAGEMENT OF INTERESTED pARTIES: IT platforms, such as websites, apps and social networks, engage and educate stakeholders on ESG issues, allowing for more transparent and interactive communication.
pRODUCT INNOvATION: drives innovation and the development of more sustainable products, enabling the creation of technological solutions that address environmental and social challenges.
department in Brazil and South America. Moreover, it can be used to increase operational efficiency and reduce environmental impact, for example through process automation, optimization of resource usage, and implementation of more sustainable production practices. Another important aspect is the use of technology to engage and empower stakeholders, allowing for more transparent and collaborative communication on ESG issues. “This includes the use of digital platforms to share information with investors, employees, customers and local
communities,” says the KPMG partner.
cONScIOUS USE
The adoption of technology also has to be conscious. If, on the one hand, the increase in processing capacity and the decrease in cost mean greater access to tools, on the other hand, they impose a higher consumption of datacenter, which, in turn, demands a lot of energy. For Brasscom, therein lies another agenda that Brazil can embrace. “The country can be a hub of datacenters with renewable energy,” says Affonso
It is impossible to imagine a scenario in which IT is not part of the ESG agenda. In addition to supporting the management of indicators, data technology can be used to make processes and energy use more efficient.
BRUNA DIAS Manager at Strategy& and Sustainability specialist
GET BEyOND THE PRETTY SPEECH
STUDIES ON the future of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in partnership with Fundação Dom Cabral (FDC) indicate the need for more innovation in the ESG agenda, engaging sustainability. In other words, it is vital to have good technological innovation projects to generate gains for the environment, for example.
In the field of companies, Hugo Tadeu, from the Dom Cabral Foundation, points out the need of establishing a strong agenda for reskilling and upskilling. The training of teams is essential for a change of attitude with regard to ESG, going beyond a beautiful speech. “We have a possibility of greater engagement for ESG because there are many resources currently for these projects,” he adds.
FDC’s studies with the WEF indicate that the most
advanced countries in ESG are those in development, precisely because they are the most impacted by climate change. For Hugo Tadeu, this reinforces that Brazil must seek leadership in this agenda, involving cuttingedge research in responses to climate, water and social challenges. According to him, rich countries have shown a skeptical attitude on the subject.
Globally, companies have sought to improve their sustainability performance due to pressures from consumers, investors and regulators, points out Strategy& (PwC) manager and sustainability expert, Bruna Dias. In Brazil, it is no different, and we see more companies adopting and increasing their public commitments.
The first step in the journey of companies looking for
Nina, chairman of the association.
Being concerned about seeking processing that is based on renewable energy should be on the agenda of IT leaders, according to Nina, who is betting on Brazil’s leading role in the decarbonization process, since the country has a clean energy matrix.
At the same time that IT means opening up possibilities, and an instrument that allows companies to move forward in various initiatives, it can also lead to worsening and harm.
Barbero, from FIA, argues that issues such as
the environmental cost of greater consumption of datacenters or the impacts of artificial intelligence on society should be debated.
Barbero says he is pessimistic in the short term and optimistic in the long term, and explains that there is always a slow evolution in humanity. “Look at the companies of the Industrial Revolution: unregulated pollution, child labor, no labor controls at all. We’ve improved a lot. I think the future is developing slowly in the sense that we have companies that will be better than the ones we have today,” he says.
Technology provides tools for collecting, analyzing and reporting data related to the environment, social issues and corporate governance. This allows businesses to monitor and improve their performance in various areas.
MáRCIO KANAMARU Lead Partner at KPMG in Brazil and South America
Incorporating sustainability into your corporate strategies means understanding what the material issues are, so that action plans can be created that will have an impact on processes,” he states.
Currently, large corporations have focused on the sustainability of their value chains, making smaller companies that serve large groups already observe the need to manage sustainability. “The trend is that, in the long run, everyone needs to take responsibility for their chain, and that traceability will become one of the pillars of production processes in various sectors”, reflects Bruna Dias.
For FIA’s Barbero, companies in Brazil can be divided into three stages in terms of adopting ESG practices. The least mature are those who are still denying the agenda, and whose executives consider it, still, to be nonsense. The positive side is that, if ten years ago they were in greater numbers, now there are fewer and fewer companies in this quadrant.
In the second stage—where the majority is—are companies in the process of ESG transformation, but
often with a reductionist agenda, says Barbero. That is, they treat the topic in a superficial way and do not change the corporate culture or the essence of the business, but only the appearance, something “so as not to look bad in retrospect.” Finally, there is the third stage, in which there are the most advanced companies that are honest and legitimate in the transformation process. They are going through a heavy change, but they are a minority.
Márcio Kanamaru, from KPMG, adds that, in Brazil, companies have created robust ESG programs, seeking to optimize not only investments in these areas to improve maturity, but focusing essentially on concrete results.
To address any ESG issue, technological innovation is mandatory. “The current climate challenges are gigantic, demanding models based on machine learning techniques for weather forecasting, production capacity in agribusiness and so many other complex issues. The ability to reinvent business models must be on the agenda, combining technological innovation and sustainability,” says Hugo Tadeu, from FDC.
DIGITAl TRANSFORMATION IS AN IMPERATIVE FOR THE COUNTRY
FROm PERNAmBUcO, Brazil, Francisco Saboya Albuquerque Neto, today head of the Brazilian Company for Research and Industrial Innovation (Embrapii), and known in the academic mean as Chico Saboya, issued a warning for Brazil to go all in artificial intelligence, with substantial resources to saturate the entire national productive sector in the new technological wave.
It’s a calling from someone who has been acting in the innovation field for three decades, as a manager, professor and entrepreneur, and who has seen the country miss every chance for socioeconomic advancement toward development. An economist with a master’s degree in Production Engineering, Chico Saboya has served as municipal secretary, company director, president of the Latin America Division of the International Association of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation (IASP), and led Porto Digital, one of Brazil’s main digital parks and innovation environments, for 11 years, being elected one of the 100 most influential Brazilians of the country.
As a university professor with experience in the Brazilian Agency for Industrial Development (ABDI), Brazilian Service of Support for Micro and Small Enterprises (Sebrae), and Finep Innovation and Research, since June 2023, he has chaired Embrapii. In a generous and friendly conversation, accompanied by ‘bolo de rolo’ (a typical sweet cake) and a wealth of firsthand knowledge, he emphasized the importance of Brazilians not missing this new historic opportunity. Speaking to Huawei Future Sustainable magazine, Chico Saboya was unequivocal: ‘We must immerse ourselves in artificial intelligence, or we will face a huge social problem.’
Given your career path linked to innovation as a professor, entrepreneur, and manager, and now heading Embrapii, do you believe Brazil is ready to make a leap?
The immediate question is when Brazil will come to terms with the future. Present strategies must reflect the future much more than the past, but Brazil is nostalgic. Brazil loves the past. We are so fond of the past that we have an economy of the past that predominates. If you look at the quantity, the flow of wealth that circulates around old things, outdated things, it is greater than the
amount of resources applied to new things.
Public tenders are mostly geared towards control, auditing, and oversight roles, focused on the past. We do not have an equivalent intensity in hiring scientists, researchers, physicists, mathematicians, or chemists. The cultural mindset in the productive sector also leans heavily towards nostalgia for a time when Brazil was the fastest-growing economy in the last century, driven by rapid industrialization based on import substitution. Brazil followed this path successfully but now faces a deficit in future orientation. We have prolonged a certain model for too long, failing to recognize the transformations occurring globally, thus delaying our embrace of the future. As a result, Brazil’s share in global manufacturing has plummeted from 2.8% to 1.4%. We are now half of what we were 40 years ago.
Isn’t it contradictory for a country needing a forward-looking perspective not to
prioritize ICTs as its main industrial policy?
The productive sector is increasingly intertwined with advanced technological services, driven by Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). ICTs symbolize innovation, the digital and green world. These should be the cornerstone of national strategies, alongside the component of inclusion. The country needs to base all its private strategies and public policies on this tripod of inclusion, sustainability, and innovation. To use more marketoriented language, we could say the world is digital, green, and should be inclusive. This underscores the role of ICTs as the driver of innovation.
Innovation spans various areas: ICTs, software, hardware, super processors, and now artificial intelligence. There’s also the enabling component of ICTs. They are not just an industry themselves, but have their own vast value chains contained within themselves. But they are also enablers of
several others. ICTs make agriculture viable, ICTs make Industry 4.0 viable. So, when we talk about when Brazil will come to terms with the future, when Brazil will take this kind of thing seriously, it’s because we see the evolution of ICTs happening. They are, in themselves, a self-contained chain and an enabler of many others: traditional industry, advanced industry, agricultural activities, public services, everything. So, there is no way forward for the progress of a nation other than massive investment in information and communication technologies and other frontier areas.
We are more used to seeing ICTs as activities directly related to entrepreneurship. Does the State fit into this equation?
The State is a fundamental source for transformations. The problem is for the State to understand itself on this role, to
“Brazil has missed out on all technological waves of the last 50 years. All of them. We missed out on hardware, processors, software; we missed out on the internet, smartphones, social networks; we missed out on IoT, nanodevices. We need to be much more selective, aiming towards the future, because these waves do not come back.”
have a vision for the future, and to realize that it must use much more of its energy, for example, its purchasing power, to address more of the future than the past. In this issue of ICTs, we can no longer imagine, for example, an Embrapa (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation) of ICTs, because the context is different. There are hundreds of thousands of businesses supported by ICTs, national and global players in intense exchange of knowledge and skills. Embrapii itself, which emerged 40 years after Embrapa, is another model. Embrapa has 7,500 employees. Embrapii is a social organization with 100 employees, but it coordinates a network of 94 scientific and technological institutions, with 10,500 people working on research and development for industry. However, it is necessary to have national strategies for development in selected areas where the country can still play a relevant role, so that Brazil can be an uploader rather than just a downloader.
Brazil has missed out on all technological waves of the last 50 years. All of them. We missed out on hardware, processors, software; we missed out on the internet, smartphones, social networks; we missed out on IoT, nanodevices. We need to be much more selective, aiming towards the future, because these waves do not come back. For example, the importance of semiconductors is unquestionable. They are at the base of everything. And beyond their fundamental importance in the productive chain of digital artifacts, they have gained geopolitical significance. In a context of disruption that the world has been experiencing since Covid-19, leading to wars in Europe, Israel, and beyond the hundreds of anonymous wars around the world, there is the issue of Yemen disrupting a corridor through which 12% of world trade flows. This creates an opportunity for Brazil if it understands its place in the value chain of the semiconductor
industry within this new context. The world is relocalizing, industries are migrating, countries are pouring in billions, trillions. It’s complicated to imagine that we will become a relevant player in microchip production. But as the world is repositioning itself, Brazil has some attributes. Brazil is near-shoring for large markets. It is, more than that, friend-shoring. We have some qualified human capital, some research and innovation infrastructure. If Brazil mixes all of this and designs a strategy that considers not the past desire to once be a microchip producer, but to be a player that contributes to the chain, yes.
But how? Because for years we have known that we need, for example, to encourage education in the so-called STEM disciplines [Science, Technology, Engineering, Math], but we have not yet put this into practice.
First, speed is needed to understand the future. It’s about timing. And the second has to do with the component of coordination. Because we formulate policies, strategies, we can do that. We cannot implement them. Because, among other things, these
strategies are themselves too imbued with the past and because we lack coordination. There is no coordination at the level of public policies with private strategies. Nor is there coordination at the level of public policies themselves. We have at least thirteen initiatives that I know of in artificial intelligence sponsored with public resources. But there is low interaction between them, redundancy most of the time. The challenge is timing, and the time is now, that is, it is already time to understand the future and convert that into practical actions and coordinate. Because without coordination, this little money we have, spread across dozens of activities that do not communicate, does not generate any substantial result. They are throwing in trillions out there. But Brazil announced an industrial policy of R$ 300 billion. That’s not a small amount of money.
Does this mean adopting a centralized coordination?
Coordination has to exist and it has to work. But not in a centralized manner. In the analog model, centralizing was almost a condition for coordination. Because I
didn’t know what was going on. How do you coordinate something you don’t know? Today I know, in real time. It’s up to the government to invest in developing a platform for coordination of public policy actions. A framework, something that enables multiple actors, with multiple services, to interact in a network. If we don’t do this in a coordinated manner, initiatives will be scattered, and resources will be wasted.
Organically, we have difficulty in organizing in this sense. We have a problem with time, with the calendar. Our long-term vision is short, four or even two years, so political and electoral arrangements naturally drive very short-term deliveries. And this is a tough area because there’s a segment of the population that would struggle to fit into a digital economy. There’s also the issue of employability.
The world has always faced, but especially from the last century onwards, the dilemma of technological unemployment versus compensatory employment.
The more intense technological waves are, the more displacement they cause. Therefore, technology is seen by some more reactionary individuals in the short term as
an enemy of the worker. At the same time, these technological waves generate job opportunities in new value chains. For the uninformed, influenced by demagogues, this is viewed negatively. The discussion about artificial intelligence is mainly dictated by how many jobs it will take away. At the same time, artificial intelligence does 50% of what we do today better than us. And that’s also the challenge. We must invest heavily in training users of artificial intelligence, in enhancing technological infrastructure and human capital in artificial intelligence, molecular biology, genetic editing, for example. Knowing how to use artificial intelligence is our only chance of still being here next year.
There is an estimate that thousands of qualified professionals are needed in technology-related fields just to meet current demands. Can we qualify millions of people to use artificial intelligence?
We have two challenges. The social challenge is to disseminate the use in production, in commerce, in service providers, in ordinary people who can rely on this tool as an assistant. And also, in the development
of scientific and technological capacity for us to benefit from it. If we do this swiftly and in a coordinated manner, with resources that are not crumbs of 20 or 30 million reais, but tens of billions, then perhaps we can achieve something. Perhaps we need to establish some standard, some relevant technology, because otherwise we’ll just be downloading already developed technology. Artificial intelligence needs to be a matter of public policy, focused on fast and immediate adoption throughout the national productive sector, across the public sector, among all freelancers, universities, everywhere. We must imbue the use of artificial intelligence. If we don’t do this, we’ll face an immense social problem. I might be unemployed by July, you might be unemployed by December, and someone else by December next year. We need to be proficient users of cutting-edge technologies that enhance productivity. Brazil created Embraer. Brazil built Petrobras. So, there’s an opportunity.
What role does digital transformation play in Brazil building its future?
It’s because it’s digital, connected, mobile, and networked, with its own rules, laws, and foundations, that you need to undergo digital transformation. Digital transformation is imperative because analog strategies won’t work. However, thinking that digitizing analog processes will result in digital transformation is a major misconception. The digital aspect is the easiest part. The hardest part is transformation, which involves people, culture, and of course, technology. If there’s something I invest in, it’s technology. But I don’t buy transformation. I can go to Magalu, Amazon, or anywhere and buy a set of machines, software, and everything else, hire consultancy. But that doesn’t accomplish transformation.
Digital transformation involves a series of changes involving people’s qualifications, organizational culture, and business models. Why is global retail shrinking?
We need to heavily invest in the training of artificial intelligence users, in technological infrastructure, and in human capital in areas like artificial intelligence, molecular biology, genetic editing, for example. Knowing how to use artificial intelligence is our only chance of being here next year.”
Because digital retail is growing five times faster. You don’t need to be a statistician to predict where this will lead us. It’s the jaws of the alligator. So, what’s the challenge?
We need to dive into the world of Brazilian commerce, especially small retailers, and digitize them. SEBRAE has an interesting initiative, but it needs to advance. We need to carry out large-scale digital transformation for everyone. When we talk about artificial intelligence, it’s an essential component of this digital transformation. If we want to achieve digital transformation, we need to go beyond what we currently do. We need to have a data-driven business strategy, generated increasingly by powerful tools. The data is more robust, complex; before it was invisible or granular, but now we can extract wealth from this valuable data. Starting with the market, understanding the market, with the intensive use of these technologies and the correct use of the data they generate, we can redesign strategies. That’s the essence of digital transformation.
PERFECT STORM pASSES THROUGH ICTS
The combination of sustainability practices with the technology sector is the main strategy for Brazil to find its path to development. the key now is to coordinate actions between government and society.
WHILE HUmANS still seriously flirt with irreparable damage to the only known habitable planet, there is a growing wave that combines sustainability and business: the environmental, social, and governance principles. These concepts, encapsulated in the acronym ESG, have surrounded the corporate world for decades. But the practical application of sustainable policies in companies’ daily operations is much more recent. Even more so is the notion that these ideas, combined with a focus on technological development, have everything to become a national strategy for Brazil.
“We are building a strategy based on the development of high-impact technologies. These range from green hydrogen to artificial intelligence and, due to their capital and strategic importance, require partnership between the government and society. There are many doubts about whether this new revolution of capitalism will leave room for those arriving 40 or 50 years late. But we have a window of opportunity. And, in what is almost a utopia, we have an elite, in the richest sense of the word, engaged in change in a country that needs transformation, innovation, and inclusion,” says Paulo Pereira, executive secretary at the Council for Sustainable Economic and Social Development (CDESS).
The CDESS, or “Conselhão” as it is better known, is a dialogue forum between the government and civil society, recreated in 2023 and currently
We are building a strategy based on the development of high-impact technologies. These range from green hydrogen to artificial intelligence and, due to their capital and strategic importance, require partnership between the government and society.
pAUlO pEREIRA Executive Secretary at
the Council for Sustainable Economic and Social Development
The ICT commission... is a very important environment that works with four pillars: infrastructure,
education, business environment and innovation, which are the foundations for the construction of public policies, investments and
thoughts to transform Brazil into a more digital and
inclusive country.
ATIlIO RUllI Vice President of Public Relations at Huawei Latin America and the Caribbean
bringing together 245 representatives from the most diverse economic and cultural sectors of the country. Confirming that combination with strategic potential, the new version of the CDESS introduced two novelties – it included the “S” for “sustainable” and established a Technology, Innovation, and Digital Transformation commission, a group consisting of 46 members of the Conselhão focusing on ICTs.
“The ICT commission, as we can call it, emerged from a demand from the councilors themselves, who understood that it is impossible to think about Brazilian development without a specific focus on technology, innovation, and digitalization. It is a very important environment because it provides a 360-degree view. It works with four pillars: infrastructure, education, business environment and innovation, which are the foundations for the construction of public policies, investments and thoughts to transform Brazil into a more digital and inclusive country,” emphasizes Atilio Rulli, Vice President of Public Relations at Huawei Latin America and the Caribbean, who is one of the group’s coordinators.
The private sector more quickly understood the incentives of the ESG agenda. A 2022 report from the Association of Information and Communication Technology Companies and Digital Technologies (Brasscom), covering 67 companies in the sector, identified 527 environmental actions, focusing on carbon emission reduction and energy efficiency, recycling and water usage management. In the social field, 422 actions involve diversity, equity
and inclusion, education, entrepreneurship and innovation. And no fewer than 672 governance initiatives, especially in data privacy and security, adequate remuneration and working environment, technology solutions for governance, and commitment to ethical standards.
PUBLIc SEcTOR
The public sector is also awakening to the topic. Examples range from the ABNT PR 2030 standard, with guidelines and an evaluation and guidance model for incorporating ESG practices, to the recent Resolution 193 of the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission, which will require, from 2026, sustainability action reports from all companies listed on the Stock Exchange. Not to mention the financial incentives promoted by BNDES, which include buying carbon credits, financing projects for small and mediumsized businesses, and training for low-income entrepreneurs. And a R$2 billion credit line with special rates for companies that adopt socioenvironmental and governance policies.
“There is no room for public policies that do not prioritize sustainability since it is now key to promote economic and social development,” highlights Communications Minister Juscelino Filho.
He highlights several projects led by his department that directly include sustainability actions, such as computer reconditioning –responsible for the correct disposal of 3,000 tons of electronic waste, associated with training young people and distributing the equipment to
There is no room for public policies that do not prioritize sustainability since it is now key to promote economic and social development.
JUSCElINO FIlHO Minister of Communications
schools and associations across the country as a digital inclusion policy.
“We are also carrying out the largest program of underwater fiber optic cables implementation in Amazonian rivers to bring the internet to the most remote places in Brazil. There are eight infoways, or ‘digital highways’, totaling 12,000 km of connectivity for 10 million people in the North of the country, with an investment of R$1.3 billion. We are talking about 59 cities in Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Pará, Rondônia and Roraima. We estimate that by choosing this lowenvironmental-impact installation method we are preserving 68 million trees,” says the minister.
The strength of combining sustainability with information and communication technologies begins with being a natural, even logical, marriage. If the first industrial revolution evokes chimneys spewing smoke, unhealthy environments and harmful working conditions, the fourth is increasingly based on efficient energy usage, emission reduction, waste management, professional ethics, and diversity and inclusion, both social and digital. ICT companies play a leading role through innovation that combines productivity with efficiency, pointing to sustainable practices not only as a matter of social responsibility, but as a smart business strategy.
“Huawei is an example of products
and solutions increasingly geared towards sustainability. Our 5G products consume much less energy than the 4G ones. And this is not just to improve the Opex [operational expenditure] of operators, it is also very aligned with heating and emissions,” says Atilio Rulli. “Not to mention our Digital Power area, with solar energy, which is sustainability ‘at its core’, clean energy projects.”
The environmental impact of ICTs ranges from the energy needed to operate data centers and telecommunications to the production and management of electronic waste. Socially, ICTs have the potential to promote digital inclusion, reducing inequality by providing access to information and opportunities. Education and training programs in digital skills are essential to ensure that new generations are prepared for the future of work. Governance involves diversity and inclusion within their own teams, transparency, business ethics, and accountability.
The spread of public and private initiatives that combine sustainability and ICTs is obviously positive. With them comes experience and, consequently, a critical capacity on best practices, effective results. But there is a common perception among the various actors involved in companies, the third sector, schools, and government that an element capable of helping Brazil achieve exponential results needs to be included in this equation in order to leverage this wave and pave a national development strategy. In short, coordination is lacking. And it is here that the plan presented by the ICT commission at Conselhão gains even greater importance.
“This commission set out to help organize a plan for Brazil’s digitalization. A plan that integrates the efforts of the government, civil society, the business environment and education to transform Brazil,” explains Paulo Pereira, the executive secretary of Conselhão.
According to Pereira, this plan, and especially the establishment of a body to coordinate ICT policies in the country, is one of CDESS’s priorities for 2024, so the expectation is that a decision will be made at the general meeting scheduled for the end of the first half of the year.
TECH4All: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TO CHANGE LIVES
Huawei uses AI to monitor the impacts of climate change and biodiversity in mangroves in Pará. the project will impact 1,298 families who rely on fishing the caranguejo-uçá crab species. Brazil with Open Schools Project has gained support of the country’s Ministry of Education.
ARTIFIcIAL INTELLIGENcE will be an ally to the communities living around the Marine Extractive Reserve of Soure (Resex Marinha de Soure) in the municipality of Soure, on Marajó Island (PA), to monitor the impact of climate change and biodiversity in the region.
Through an agreement, the reserve was chosen to be part of the Tech4ALL program, developed globally by Huawei since 2019 with more than 40 partners.
The Resex Marinha de Soure project is part of the Tech4Nature initiative, promoted globally by Huawei. “Our main concern in Brazil is to focus the project on monitoring the impact of climate change and biodiversity in the Amazon region,” says Elise Machado, responsible for the development and implementation of socio-environmental programs and projects at Huawei Brazil.
The monitoring of climate change and biodiversity on Marajó Island was selected for the second phase of
Tech4Nature, which includes the global cooperation of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The application of technology in the reserve, which covers about 30,000 hectares, will impact the daily lives of 1,298 families. About 50% of this population depends on the artisanal fishing of the caranguejo-uçá crab species.
Elise Machado says that Huawei will develop an artificial intelligence algorithm running on cloud platform to make the monitoring of the crab population in the region more accurate and easier. “Marajó Island is recognized as the largest fluvial-marine island in the world, and a global biodiversity hotspot. Located in the largest continuous stretch of mangroves on the planet, the region plays a fundamental role in combating climate change, as it has a more efficient carbon sequestration rate than the Amazon rainforest itself,” she says.
Under the cooperation of Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio), the reserve’s manager, the project has other partners such as the Federal University of Pará (UFPA) and Rare Brazil, a civil society organization that promotes sustainable fishing. Beatriz Aydos, Program Officer at IUCN in Brazil, says that the fact that the Resex Marinha de Soure is in the process of obtaining Green List certification was
indispensable for its admission to the bidding process.
Created by the IUCN, the Green List is a certification granted to reserves that maintain good management practices. In Brazil, no reserve has obtained this certification yet, but some have already applied for the certification process, which takes long, says Beatriz Aydos.
“In Brazil, the Amazon biomes are more advanced in this process. We made a selection
considering the priorities of the IUCN and Huawei, such as the social component. Although it is an environmental project, it brings many advances in the social area. We cannot dissociate the environmental from the social,” she adds.
cOmmUNITY AUTONOmY
Still in its initial phase, the project will start field activities in June. ICMBio had already advanced discussions with UFPA, where a low-cost climate
analysis technology that does not exist in Brazil is being developed.
Beatriz Aydos explains that the systems available worldwide for this type of monitoring still have high costs.
The technology being developed at UFPA will collect water data, and analyze salinity and temperature indicators. Beatriz Aydos, who is a biologist, notes that changes in water temperature in the mangroves greatly affect the
Our main concern in Brazil is to
focus the
project
on monitoring the impact of climate change and biodiversity in the Amazon region.
ElISE MACHADO
Responsible for the development and implementation of socio-environmental programs and projects at Huawei Brazil
BRAZIL WITH OpEN SCHOOlS
Huawei will be responsible for providing connectivity technologies, such as WiFi 6, with the installation of equipment to enable digital education.
IN ANOTHER AREA, the education one, Tech4ALL presents the second phase of the project that uses advanced technologies to provide digital inclusion in classroom. Known as Technology-enabled Open Schools for All, the project is called Brasil de Escolas Abertas (Brazil with Open Schools), and has already begun with the support of the Brazilian Ministry of Education (MEC).
The educational branch of Tech4ALL was established with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to promote digital transformation through projects in the sector. It is a
global partnership between Huawei and UNESCO, which completed the first phase with activities developed in Egypt, Ghana, and Ethiopia. In the second phase, besides Brazil, Thailand and Egypt are participating.
Rebeca Otero, coordinator of UNESCO’s Education sector in Brazil, highlights MEC’s support as a distinguishing feature of the national project. Despite being in the scope definition phase, actions developed here will tend to prioritize the training of basic education teachers for the pedagogical use of technology in the classroom. “We are still defining the scope of the pilot
ecosystem, posing a significant risk. With Huawei’s funding, the technology can move from the laboratory to the reserve.
“The idea is for the community itself to handle the equipment and have access to the data. Based on these analyses, they can make decisions to ensure the protection of the ecosystem,” says Beatriz Aydos.
The other component of the analyses is the caranguejouçá, the flagship species of the
project. A crucial element for the subsistence of the reserve’s communities, the crab will be monitored by an artificial intelligence algorithm running on the Huawei Cloud platform.
“We will create an artificial intelligence algorithm within our Huawei Cloud platform that automates precisely this process of counting the crabs. An innovative solution specific to this project,” says Elise Machado.
Currently, the data are collected manually by the
We made a selection considering the priorities of the IUCN and Huawei, such as the social component. Although it is an environmental project, it brings many advances in the social area.
BEATRIz AyDOS Program Officer at IUCN in Brazil
to be developed in Brazil, but MEC has already indicated that it would like to focus on teacher training. This engagement from the Ministry is very important since it incorporates the project into the public policy framework for teacher training,” says Otero, who holds a master’s degree in health sciences from University of Brasília (UnB) and a specialization in public health from University of Campinas (Unicamp), with further training in educational evaluation and planning from the International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP/UNESCO) in Paris.
Huawei will also contribute by providing connectivity technologies, such as WiFi 6, with the installation of equipment to enable connectivity infrastructure. “We will also contribute by supplying smart devices, while UNESCO will focus on training and capacitating teachers, aiming for more immersive and interesting teaching for students,” says Elise Machado.
The partnership with the Ministry of Education will
ICMBio team. The new system will analyze photos of the crab burrows to map the population’s development. The system will also provide data on the impacts of climate change on this species.
In June, there will be the first meeting with the countries participating in the initial phase of Tech4ALL and those selected for the second phase. Besides Brazil, China, Mexico, Kenya, and Turkey participate in the second stage.
be essential to ensure the incorporation of technology into teaching and learning processes at a national level, and facilitate coordination with states and municipalities, in line with the National Connected Schools Strategy, a priority for the country.
The Technology-enabled Open Schools for All project has a common backbone for all participating countries. Rebeca Otero notes that the projects generally follow four stages. In the first stage, the focus is on connectivity, the quality of learning, and promoting a national platform. In the second stage, digital learning content based on open educational resources is implemented.
The third stage consists in empowering teachers with technology, so they can create their own content and master these skills, while the fourth stage focuses in bringing this knowledge into a public policy framework in the country.
A SUCCESSFUL PAIRING: EDUCATION AND TECHNOlOGy
Huawei Brazil brings connectivity and technological training to schools. the company offers internet access in classrooms at public high schools in four states: Bahia, Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais and Rio Grande do Norte.
cONNEcTIVITY IS indispensable in today’s world, and is particularly important in the field of education. Huawei provides connectivity and training in state public schools in four Brazilian states. WiFi connectivity in classrooms extends the reach of schools already connected physically, opening new teaching possibilities for students and teachers, who no longer have to rely solely on shared laboratories. Notable projects currently being implemented include those maintained with the state governments of Bahia, Espírito Santo, and Minas Gerais.
Douglas Piller, regional director of government for Huawei in the Northeast and Southeast of Brazil, highlights pioneering efforts in Bahia, which began the project in 2021. In January 2022, the state’s Department of Education acquired, through a bidding process, over
In Bahia, Huawei will provide training and certification for state school teachers and students, as well as federal institutes and state and federal universities located in the
state.
DOUGlAS pIllER Regional director
of government at Huawei in the Northeast and Southeast of the country
7,000 WiFi 6 connectivity points, then cutting-edge technology, for installation in 1,000 state schools in the first phase.
Currently over 80% of the schools are already connected via WiFi. In March 2024, the department signed a contract addendum to increase by another 1,000 points due to increased usage by students and teachers. The goal is to complete the first phase by June, with plans to expand the project to a second phase, aiming to cover 100% of the state’s schools. It is worth noting that the National Connected Schools Strategy, announced by the federal government, and the Act 14.172, which guarantees internet access for educational purposes, aim to universalize internet access in Brazilian public schools by 2026.
Huawei participates in bidding processes through partners within its channel ecosystem. The company provides the technology, and the partner handles integration and installation. After the bidding, Huawei can make agreements for technology transfer. In
Bahia, the agreement covers the State Department of Education and the State Department of Technology and Innovation, responsible for interfacing with universities and federal institutes.
“In Bahia, we made a cooperation agreement with the state government, where Huawei will provide training and certification for state school teachers and students, as well as federal institutes and state and federal universities located in the state,” says Douglas Piller, regional director of government at Huawei in the Northeast and Southeast of the country. This agreement encompasses Huawei’s educational and institutional dimension. “The proposal is to be more than a technology provider; it is to offer educational materials and knowledge so that teachers and students have a learning program with training and certification,” Piller emphasizes.
Adélia Maria Carvalho de Melo Pinheiro, who was the Secretary of Education for Bahia until April, when she left to run for mayor of Ilhéus, commented that the department and the
company jointly selected the best project design. “During an international mission to China, Governor Jerônimo Rodrigues visited Huawei’s headquarters and saw how the company and Chinese schools have adopted technology in classrooms to benefit learning processes. This transformed our partnership and enhanced the proposal,” said the secretary. “Since there was already an investment in WiFi connectivity, the partnership was designed with equipment to bring a comprehensive connectivity environment into the classroom,” she added.
Initially, a model school is being equipped, the State Center for Professional Education in Technology, Information and Communication (CEEPTIC) in Lauro de Freitas, in the metropolitan region of Salvador. The school, focused on professional education, has approximately 1,100 full-time students. The technical courses are centered on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).
“A bidding process will be
held to acquire these devices for the entire network of 1,700 units in the 417 municipalities of Bahia where there is at least one school,” said Adélia Pinheiro. “There is already connectivity in 95% of the schools. Using technology for pedagogical purposes can stimulate the creativity of young people and rebuild their connection with schools,” added the thenSecretary of Education.
She mentioned that in four years, R$ 6 billion has been invested in school physical structures. There are about 70 new units with spacious, air-conditioned and well-lit
classrooms with connectivity, laboratories, sports courts, swimming pools, soccer fields, athletics tracks, restaurants and libraries. “By the end of the year, another 150 units will be delivered. Of the 712,000 enrollments, 120,000 are full-time, and 143,000 are in professional and technological education,” she listed.
GLOBAL STRATEGY
Huawei’s strategy is part of the global ICT Academy program, which works with governments, universities and companies to offer courses, including instructor training,
laboratory environment setup and talent certification. The company has an educational platform for each state with content to familiarize students with topics such as cloud computing and artificial intelligence, among other technologies, preparing them for the job market. “Schools, universities and students can participate in Huawei’s global ICT Competition,” says the regional director.
For Charles Zhang, Huawei’s regional manager for Bahia, connectivity is the most important ICT infrastructure for digital education. He emphasizes that quality networks are key to promote digital campuses, smart classrooms and distance education, eliminate imbalances in educational resources, and bring highquality educational materials to all regions, especially the most remote. “The government of Bahia has a vision and places great importance on investment in education and school infrastructure. It is expected that more than 2,000 schools will be benefited,” adds the manager.
Zhang explains that the entire plan will be executed in three phases. In phase 1, already completed, more than 1,000 schools with good infrastructure conditions were the first to build basic networks. The second phase will cover the remaining schools. In phase 3, the smart campus,
State Center for Professional Education in Technology, Information and Communication (CEEP-TIC) facilities in Lauro de Freitas, metropolitan region of Salvador
Photo: Joá Souza / GOVBA
Photo: Feijão Almeida / SECBA
Photo: Danilo Magalhães
smart classroom, and distance learning applications will be implemented based on the infrastructure network.
He notes that in many Latin American countries, connectivity and digitization in education have just begun. “With the improvement of ICT infrastructure, digital applications in education will explode. Therefore, we believe this is a market with great potential,” he states.
mINAS GERAIS AND ESPÍRITO SANTO
In Minas Gerais, the bidding took place in June 2023, and a cooperation agreement was signed with the State Department of Education for training and certification of students and teachers. Initially, Huawei is providing WiFi connectivity to 2,800 schools, equivalent to approximately 78% of the public education network, with 11,000 WiFi points. Implementation began in September 2023, and has already reached over 25% of the schools. The expectation is to complete it by November of this year, with a second phase
Since there was already an investment in WiFi connectivity, the partnership [with Huawei] was designed with equipment to bring a
comprehensive connectivity environment into the classroom.
ADélIA MARIA CARvAlHO DE MElO pINHEIRO
Secretary of Education for Bahia (until
April 2024)
already planned.
“The cooperation agreement was signed with Governor Romeu Zema, in China, last September, and Huawei will provide training for teachers and students. This is Huawei’s largest global agreement for certification, covering 70,000 teachers and 1.4 million students. We will create a platform with specific content for the state, which has 864 municipalities, with an average of four schools each, totaling 3,600 schools,” says Douglas Piller, Huawei’s Regional Government Director for Northeast and Southeast regions of the country. “It’s a very challenging project for the integrator, who will also be responsible for civil constructions, and even more ambitious on the part of the state government, which intends to expand it,” Piller adds.
He emphasizes that there are countless opportunities in the country.
In Minas Gerais and Bahia, the contracts were made through price registration lists, which can be used by other state governments,
some of which have already made inquiries. “There is high demand, which is expected to accelerate in 2024. Laptops were idle because there was no internet in classrooms, and now students have been able to consume content. Interactivity among students, access to information, and more practical research have generated new experiences for students,” highlights the director.
Flávio Melgaço, Huawei’s Regional Government Manager for Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo, says that in Espírito Santo, 407 state schools that already counted on fiber connection from the government’s network have been connected. Huawei provides LAN WiFi 6 communication in classrooms, with a comprehensive management platform. An SD-WAN solution has also been implemented to integrate various broadband providers to harmonize connection to schools.
Huawei has also been involved in providing connectivity to schools in Rio Grande do Norte, with a project still ongoing.
WHEN QUAlIFICATION MAKES A DIFFERENCE
Living in Bahia, one of the most violent cities in Brazil, professor Givanildo Santos says that qualification is changing local reality. In a city much further south, Patrick Engelmann, who has only 3% vision in one eye, is an example of how individual determination, combined with education, can change life: he became an It professional in Paraná.
THE SEcRET of the Huawei ICT Academy program lies in collaboration and can be compared to what the African proverb suggests: “if you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go in a group”. The joint efforts of the company with educational institutions result in more talents and sensitivity, essential to bring qualification to low-income young people from all over the country, including regions outside the major centers.
An example is that of Givanildo J. Santos, professor at the Federal Institute of Bahia (Jequié Campus) and administrator of Huawei ICT Academy. He won, in April 2024, the Huawei promoted “Most Valuable Instructor in Latin America” award. “We joined the program last year with the goal of bringing high-quality courses to our students, improving their knowledge and skills,” says the professor, for
Through training, a range of opportunities for social ascension is opened up with the expansion of placements in the job market, which may change the course of lives.
whom the award represents the recognition of his dedication and that of the students.
According to him, the great differential of the project is its expressive social impact, as it proposes to bring professional qualification to young people from low-income, especially black women. “Through training, a range of opportunities for social ascension is opened up with the expansion of placements in the job market, which may change the course of lives,” he highlights.
The professor’s concern is pertinent, considering that data
GIvANIlDO J. SANTOS Professor at the Federal Institute of Bahia
–
Jequié Campus
It’s not enough to make it easy to access. Collaboration [with students] is a two-way street. It is not a ‘charitable’ interaction, but an exchange relationship.
AUGUSTO lUENGO pEREIRA NUNES
Professor at the Federal Institute of Paraná – Londrina Campus
from the Brazilian Yearbook of Public Security in 2023 indicate that Jequié is the number 1 Bahian city in the ranking of most violent municipalities with above 100 thousand inhabitants in Brazil.
“Last year, the program went far beyond training. It has given many young people the option to change their lives. It’s helping us transform the reality of our city.”
The professor says that his main dream is for free and quality public education to be available to anyone in Brazil, in a universal, increasingly inclusive and intelligent way. “On this journey, my goal is to be a global champion, together with my students, an unprecedented title here in
the country. And to carry out a technical-cultural exchange in China to train myself even more”, he says.
SENSITIVITY OVERcOmES
cHALLENGES
The art of teaching is driven by passion in most cases. It requires, above all, sensitivity, namely a valuable soft skill. And when this task is intended for young people with special needs, it becomes a complex and personalized challenge. Each case requires different treatment. This is how Augusto Luengo Pereira Nunes, professor at the Federal Institute of Paraná (Londrina Campus) and coordinator of the Huawei ICT Academy, describes it after the experience of conducting the education of Patrick Vieira da Silva Engelmann, a graduate student of the Technology in Systems Analysis and Development course at IFPR and the Huawei ICT Academy.
Patrick joined IFPR in 2020 with the aim of achieving an opportunity in the job market in the technology field. Since he suffers from limited visual acuity, with only 3% vision in one eye, he surprised all by his
determination and completely changed Nunes’ teaching strategy.
The role of Professor Nunes, according to him, transcends the mere transmission of knowledge. One must play the role of facilitator in the learning process.
“In Patrick’s case, I had difficulties because I traditionally used visuals in regular classes, with good results, but for him it didn’t make sense. I strove to look for better ways of communicating. I worked with screen readers to convey the content and also Artificial Intelligence resources, associating solutions appropriate to his needs. We have always built joint actions,” he says.
Upon joining IFPR, Patrick also started the Huawei courses. The professor reveals that the student created a solution to move around the company’s building easily. “All his commitment is also the result of creating a welcoming and appropriate environment. It’s not enough to make it easy to access. Collaboration is a twoway street. It is not a ‘charity’ interaction, but a relationship of exchange,” says Nunes.
Patrick Vieira da Silva Engelmann, who has only 3% visual acuity in one eye, completed regular training at IFPR and courses at Huawei ICT Academy. Today he is an IT professional in an IT multinational.
DREAM VS. REALITY: DIGITAl, SOCIAl AND ECONOMIC INClUSION IN AMA zONAS
Veloso Net brings services such as PIX to the local population, but admits: there are still huge challenges.
AmAZONAS HAS the largest forest and the greatest biodiversity on the planet in an area of 1.5 million square kilometers, with a population of 4 million Brazilians and more than 8,000 kilometers of rivers. Even so, the state is a granary still little explored for the sustainable economy, tourism and new businesses.
receives many visitors already used to purchases by credit card or PIX.
Until recently, residents of the communities of Alto Solimões did not have the basic right to voice and internet services. The available offerings were limited, such as satellite communication, with high latency (600 to 1000 milliseconds). James David da Costa Marques, a micro-entrepreneur from Tabatinga, 1,200 kilometers from Manaus, in the state of Amazonas, recalls that the city and nearby communities barely had 4G working.
Owner of a party and variety supply store, the micro-entrepreneur also suffered from constant signal drops, interrupting payment by cards and PIX. Marques recalls that, today, most banks are digital, and the city, although far from large urban centers, has all the federative agencies and
“I lost many sales because I couldn’t finish the transaction due to internet failures. Small business owners do not have enough capital to set up a broadband network and lose sales because they do not have this option to offer to customers”, he points out. Marques says that the scenario changed with the arrival of Veloso Net network service provider, not only for shopkeepers and entrepreneurs, but also for the entire community.
The infrastructure was implemented in the city in February 2023. “Sales have grown by 90%, since they can now be paid via card and PIX. Aside from that, teachers, nurses, doctors, and students have improved their activities with quality internet. Thanks to the availability of the network, everyone’s life has improved”, celebrates Marques.
Partnership aims providing internet to a stretch of 1,100 kilometers, starting from Tabatinga, a city near the border with Colombia.
BEYOND TRADITIONAL
Digital, economic and social inclusion of microentrepreneurs like James Marques only took place because a provider, Veloso Net, believed that bringing connectivity to locations not yet served would be good business. In February 2018, the provider, with Huawei as a partner, emerged with the aim of bringing 4G internet to places where no other provider imagined reaching.
“They had nothing but public phones and today we already have a backbone with more than 3,000 kilometers serving the entire state, from Manaus to Tabatinga, or from Manaus to Parintins,” says Júnior Veloso, CEO and founder of Veloso Net.
In February 2023, the project evolved to 5G technology, taking advantage of secondary spectrum of the 2.6 GHz and 700 MHz frequencies to have 5G standalone, the most advanced technology adopted by Brazil. The partnership between Veloso Net and Huawei foresees bringing internet to an
extension of 1700 kilometers, from Tabatinga, a city near the border with Colombia, to Manaus, the capital of Amazonas.
To date, 21 communities have been served with a 4G network, improving connectivity in areas previously limited to satellite communications. The 5G network is in the expansion phase, with the goal of reaching 72 new locations by 2024, which would represent a significant increase in highspeed internet coverage. The service has 100% of Huawei’s infrastructure with two network cores, which are essential for managing data traffic and offering reliable telecommunications services.
Currently, Veloso Net exclusively covers the state of Amazonas, including remote cities and communities, but there are plans to move forward in other states in the region, starting with Boa Vista, the capital of Roraima, indicating a growth vision targeted at becoming a regional operator
Collaboration [with Huawei] promises to enhance our ability to offer broad 5G coverage, not only to local communities, but also as a relevant operator in the North region. This initiative significantly improves the quality of life in the locations served.
JúNIOR vElOSO CEO and founder of Veloso Net
in Northern Brazil.
The challenges are still huge, as Júnior Veloso reminds us. The main ones include the complex logistics and infrastructure required to deploy the network in remote locations, often with logistical challenges greater than those of large urban distances. There is also the effect of climate change, with river droughts, such as the one recorded last year, or intense rains, characteristic of this part of Brazil. To grow, new commercial alliances are being negotiated, among them, with Ligga Telecom.
“This collaboration promises to redirect Veloso Net’s strategy, enhancing its ability to offer broad 5G coverage, not only to local communities, but also as a relevant operator in the North region. This initiative significantly improves the quality of life in the locations served as well as positions Veloso Net for a future of expansion and innovation in telecommunications in the region”, adds Júnior Veloso.
HOW FAR DO WOMEN GO? AS FAR AS THEy WANT TO GO!
Huawei’s program for training female leaders in technology will benefit women from all over Brazil with a new differential: social inclusion.
WOmEN REPRESENT only 20% of the professionals working in the IT area in Brazil, according to IBGE’s National Household Sample Survey (PNAD). Created in 2022, Women in Tech Brazil, an arm of Huawei’s global initiative to boost the training of women leaders in the sector, aims to make a difference and change this scenario. The initiative now gains new differentials, which foresees to bring training and social inclusion beyond its corporate borders. To strengthen diversity, innovation, and differentiated market vision, Huawei appointed Victor Montenegro, head of Education & Social Value at Huawei Brazil, as the leader of Women in Tech Brazil project.
The executive, who assumed this responsibility in January of this year, with a willingness to overcome challenges, attract more and more women and make Brazil a successful example of technological and social female inclusion, projects to expand the program by May.
“Leading a women’s
program as a man is a great challenge and increases my level of commitment, considering that we have highly represented women here. I wish to enrich this initiative with sensitivity and the experience acquired in the social and educational worlds. We’re going to join forces,” Montenegro says.
Brazil, of continental dimensions, is challenging because it is home to regions with different economic realities, with a large part of the population having low income and schooling, and different scenarios, when comparing, for example, the North and Northeast with the South and Southeast of the country.
“It is vitally important to promote more opportunities even in other sectors of the economy where technology is certainly present. This view is important in the social context of Brazilian women, in which only 2% of them are at the top of the pyramid and more than 85% are at its base,” he argues.
Montenegro adds that,
according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a body of international importance for issues beyond economics, including education and the environment, expanding access to early childhood education would facilitate women’s participation in the labor market and reduce gender inequalities.
JOINING FORcES
To expand the horizons of Women in Tech Brazil, partnerships are being established to collaboratively scale the initiative throughout the country, thus awakening, training and empowering women.
The first states to be reached will be Paraíba, Pernambuco and São Paulo, with the joint efforts between Huawei, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), UNESCO, the Ministry of Education (MEC), state governments and voices of the Brazilian women’s movement. And that not to mention the partnering with Fabi Saad, entrepreneur and founder of the Positive Women project, so as to offer free training courses in various areas of technology such as AI, Cloud and 5G.
It is vitally important to promote more opportunities even in other sectors of the economy where technology is certainly present. This view is important in the social context of Brazilian women, in which only 2% of them are at the top of the pyramid and more than 85% are at its base.
vICTOR MONTENEGRO Leader of the Women in Tech Brazil project
have a social responsibility and education programs offered to all the population, in public or private partner institutions, as well as initiatives that promote the dissemination of the understanding of the true role of women in the technology sector and in society.”
Women in Tech Brazil, among numerous actions, sponsors events through partnerships and participation in workshops, is targeted at positioning women who work at Huawei in management positions, and thus inspire and serve as an example for the new generations in the company.
a new perspective for entrepreneurship. “We wish to show how AI, 5G, cloud and other emerging technologies that permeate Huawei can help train new entrepreneurs in different areas of activity,” says Montenegro.
According to him, this is the great turning point that will occur in 2024, breaking corporate barriers and extending to society. “We are developing a website, available 24/7 for women to sign up and certify for free.”
Undoubtedly, Montenegro points out, the main driver of this project is education. “We
Considering that Brazil is a country primarily based on a service economy, one of the objectives of the initiative is to show how technology brings, directly or indirectly,
Another initiative—still on the agenda of talks with the Ministry of Development and Social Assistance, Family and Fight against Hunger—is the expansion of the program to women members of the Bolsa Família Social Program, aiming at training. The initial idea is for participants to have a joint qualification certificate from the Ministry and Huawei.
WITHOUT ASKING FOR PERMISSION
Mary Roberta Meira Marinho crossed borders and gained prominence in a traditionally male area: mechanics. And she became rector at the Federal Institute of Paraíba (IFPB).
IN THIS still difficult field, nothing like an example of female perseverance to show that it is possible to overcome obstacles and move forward. A woman, a Northeasterner, and coming from a low-income background, Mary Roberta Meira Marinho aspired to—and achieved—opportunities in a traditionally male-dominated field: mechanics.
Born in the small town of Patos, in the countryside of Paraíba, she knew from an early age the limitations imposed by social and gender conditions in a region punished by drought. Daughter of separated parents, she had as an example of struggle and determination her mother, a geography teacher, who, alone, raised her and two other siblings, always valuing knowledge as a lever for social and professional ascension.
Eager for knowledge and seeking to broaden her perspectives, Mary moved to the state capital, João Pessoa, at the age of 14 to take a technical course in mechanics at the Federal Technical School of Paraíba (ETFPB) in 1984. She knew it would be a challenging path, but she followed her course: “I never asked anyone for permission to take my place,” she recounts.
mEcHANIcS LADY
Mary says she did not face prejudice as a student for being a woman – or she was not aware of it. She did not have to slow down her progress. “Because I was very determined and tough, without letting anything shake me. Without asking for permission. This attitude earned me the nickname ‘Margaret Thatcher,’ not because of her ideals, but for holding the title of ‘Iron Lady,’ related, in my case, to mechanics,” she reveals with a smile.
Her passion for the area was inspired by her grandfather, who was a mechanic. “I’ve always had an affinity for equipment and it has become my reference. Throughout the course, I had a lot of difficulty in supporting myself financially in João Pessoa, and I even thought about going
back to Patos, but I knew that it would be worse and worse, so I kept going”, she says.
When she entered the job market to compete for a position, she felt for the first time the prejudice of being young and a woman in a male-dominated field: “They never called me.”
Graduated as a Mechanical Technician from ETFPB and in Mechanical Engineering from the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB), holding a Master’s degree in Production Engineering and a specialization as a Technological Innovation Agent from UFPB, and a Ph.D. in Process Engineering from the Federal University of Campina Grande (UFCG), she is now the rector of the Federal Institute of Paraíba (IFPB). Mary has about three decades of experience in academic and administrative management and has held various public positions.
She is the first woman to hold the highest position at IFPB, elected with more than 90% of the valid votes, the highest vote in the history of the federal network of professional, scientific, and technological education.
Mother of three sons, Mary says she educates them by example, showing the importance of valuing and respecting women. “It is necessary to educate them and integrate them into our ecosystem, where everyone helps each other, collaborates, and combines skills and abilities, regardless of gender. Everyone has their place. And here I acknowledge the excellent partnership of my husband,” concludes Mary, who does not ask for permission, pulls up a chair, and takes her deserved place, without ceremony.
Rector Mary Roberta and the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Luciana Santos
Mechanics Laboratory – João Pessoa Campus
ARE WE READY FOR A SUSTAINABlE FUTURE?
More than an option, building a better world is a necessity for Brazil and the world. Experts point out: technology is the catalyst for a future in which humanity and the planet thrive together.
SUSTAINABILITY IS a topic that has been debated for some time, especially the concept and the consequences that may arise if it is not properly adopted. But its enormous length leaves doubts about each one’s roles, practical actions, and how technology can contribute to building a more sustainable future.
To discuss this topic focusing on what Brazil needs in order to build a sustainable future, Huawei Sustainable Future magazine brought together two experts: José Wanderley Marangon Lima, CEO at Marangon Consultoria, and Hudson Zanin, professor at Unicamp. Marangon holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from Instituto Militar
de Engenharia, with PhDs in Administration and in Electrical Engineering, both from Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. He is also a board member of the Brazilian Association of Distributed Generation (ABGD) and the National Institute of Clean Energy (Inel).
Zanin graduated in Physics from Universidade de São Carlos, with a master’s and a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Unicamp. He coordinates Research in the Advanced Energy Storage Division of the Center for Innovation in New Energies and the Battery Manufacturing, Validation, and Certification Center, focusing on the development of functional materials, nanomaterials, and their application in energy storage and conversion devices. Their combined expertise provides a deeper insight into what has actually been done regarding sustainability in Brazil. Marangon notes, for example, that current discussions on practical actions are still very incipient. “The lack of more technical information presented in an understandable way to the population and especially to energy consumers, for instance, delays the process of sustainable coexistence between humans and the natural resources they need,” he states.
Zanin agrees and emphasizes that the future will be shaped by decisions made now,
which require careful consideration of how society interacts with natural resources. In addition to information, he advocates for a series of actions to reduce the effects of climate change. One example is the transition to renewable energies such as solar and wind power. Similarly, energy efficiency in buildings and transportation represents a vast field of action, as well as the use of biofuels, which is a significant asset for Brazil.
The Unicamp professor also highlights sustainable agriculture as a key piece in this puzzle, as practices that protect soil, water and biodiversity can ensure not only food security for future generations, but also respect for the complex web of life of which we are a part.
There is also a focus on expanding practices such as waste management, with an emphasis on recycling and the circular economy, as well
In
as water conservation through technologies and practices that reduce consumption and improve treatment and reuse.
THE ROLE OF TEcHNOLOGY
Regarding the role of technology in building a sustainable future, the experts’ views converge: it is essential. However, Marangon points out that technology is a means, not the solution to problems. “In the process of transforming society, technology plays a fundamental role in providing opportunities for all. Look at what happened with access to cell phones worldwide, including for the less privileged classes,” he compares.
For Zanin, technology is the catalyst for a future in which humanity and the planet thrive together. Citing electrification as an opportunity to do more while emitting fewer greenhouse
the process of transforming society, technology plays a fundamental role in providing opportunities for all.
JOSé WANDERlEy MARANGON lIMA CEO at Marangon Consultoria
CHAllENGES FACED By BRA zIl IN THE SUSTAINABILITY FIELD
A fertile environment with robust investments in research and development, quality education in science and technology, and a digital infrastructure reaching all layers of the population are vital points for the country.
WHEN DIScUSSING technology and sustainability, Brazil emerges in a favorable position, but with a series of challenges to overcome. On one hand, the country is rich in natural resources, particularly in its potential for renewable energy, with 93% of its electrical grid and 50% of its energy matrix coming from renewables, according to Zanin. “The hydroelectric capacity, complemented by the growing utilization of wind and solar potential, positions Brazil as an emerging leader in the use of clean and sustainable sources of electrical energy,” he states.
It is also truth that the country faces challenges in other areas, such as the lack of a fertile environment that includes
The intersection of technology with sustainability and inclusion outlines a future in which every individual can grow, learn, and thrive.
HUDSON zANIN Professor at Unicamp
gases, he highlights the need to produce clean electrical energy and the growth of sources such as solar energy, wind power, and biofuels.
From another perspective, both experts see technology as an essential factor for inclusive initiatives, whether social, digital, or economic. “Cell phones and the internet represent a unique form of inclusion, giving a voice to those who have never had access,” argues Marangon. Zanin points out technology as a powerful bridge for inclusion, with the potential to reach the deepest layers of society.
He notes that inclusion starts with access, moves through education, and extends to digital financial solutions, which are now reshaping the economic landscape and bringing basic services to previously excluded people. “Technology
as a tool for sustainable development further enhances its impact on inclusion. The intersection of technology with sustainability and inclusion outlines a future in which every individual has the opportunity to grow, learn, and thrive,” believes Zanin.
In the field of energy, solar power combined with storage has been able to provide electricity to remote communities in the Amazon region, raising their standard of living and granting access to all the benefits that come with it. This means that regions previously reliant on diesel generation now have greater energy availability without harming the environment. Globally, the establishment of solar and wind energy parks are other good examples, along with smart city initiatives.
robust investments in research and development, quality education in sciences and technology, and a digital infrastructure that reaches all segments of the population. “Brazil is at an inflection point, with the potential to lead the global scenario of sustainable technologies.”
Marangon agrees, noting that Brazil has never been a technological powerhouse, but has taken significant steps in the sustainability field. He also mentions the example of the electrical grid, considered the most sustainable in the world. However, he emphasizes that the energy matrix still requires adjustments, especially in transportation. There are bright spots on the horizon. “In agribusiness, which represents 25% of Brazil’s GDP and 50% of exports, there is a shift from diesel to sustainable electric energy underway, and in heavy industry, where the decarbonization process is more challenging, projects are beginning to emerge with the aim of replacing coal,” he points out.
The use of renewable energy, in fact, has become one of the main intersections with technology, showing promising results. For Marangon, this union makes sense, as renewable energy not only reduces greenhouse gas emissions but also enhances integration with electricity sector users through distributed solar generation.
For Zanin, this is one of the most promising fields, representing a bridge between environmental preservation and technological advancement. He asserts that renewable energy alone addresses the need to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and minimize the environmental impact of energy generation. When combined with the latest technological innovations, it becomes the best choice in terms of cost, efficiency, and sustainability.
SOl AR ENERGy IS BRAZIL’S SECOND DRIVING FORCE
In three years of operation in Brazil, Huawei Digital Power unit helped generate 3.9 billion kWh and reduced the country’s carbon emissions by 1.8 million tons, equivalent to planting 2.5 million trees.
THE ENERGY transition has firmly entered the agenda of countries, which - to varying degrees - are taking action to make changes to their energy matrices. Ensuring access for all to reliable, sustainable, and modern sources is one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), aimed at substantially increasing the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix and doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency by 2030. In Brazil, discussions about policies to diversify the energy mix gained strength in 2001, when the country needed to implement a rationing program, highlighting its dependence on hydroelectric power.
Currently, solar energy is already the second largest source in the national electrical matrix, with 38.4 gigawatts (GW) in operation, responsible for over R$ 133.1 billion in investments, more than 831,100 jobs, and avoiding 36.5 million tons of CO² emissions, according to data from the Brazilian Photovoltaic Solar
Our flagship in 2023 were the large solar plant utilities, but the battery market began to emerge.
HUMBERTO
CRAvO
NETO Vice Presidente at Huawei Digital Power in Brazil Energy Association (ABSOLAR).
According to the entity, solar generation surpassed the mark of 28 gigawatts (GW) of operational installed capacity in residences, businesses, industries, rural properties, and public buildings in Brazil. As a result, more than 3.5 million consumer units are served by this technology, and the country has approximately 2.4 million photovoltaic systems installed on rooftops, facades, and small plots of land.
Humberto Cravo Neto, Vice President of Huawei Digital Power in Brazil, states that the boom in the renewable energy market began with wind power and then shifted to solar. In this segment, Huawei Digital Power is a global leader in the development of smart electronic devices for renewable energy generation and storage, and is actively involved in discussions about technological trends.
In three years of operation in Brazil, Huawei Digital Power and its digital technologies helped generate 3.9 billion kilowatthours (kWh) and reduced the
country’s carbon emissions by 1.8 million tons, equivalent to planting 2.5 million trees. Huawei Digital Power’s portfolio includes solutions such as inverters, batteries, and storage. “Our flagship in 2023 was large solar plant utilities, but the battery market began to emerge,” points out Neto, who believes that segments like smart storage systems and intelligent chargers are promising and will experience further growth.
ALTERNATIVE ENERGIES
“We’re discussing including batteries in the auction. If that happens, it will be a boom,” says Humberto Neto. Batteries can be used as a mechanism for security and reliability, driving the energy transition, optimizing grid use and energy generation, and increasing system flexibility.
Due to the search for alternative energies in response to the impacts of the war in Ukraine, Europe experienced an increase in the sale of solar panels and inverters. Without Russian gas supply, Huawei
Digital Power’s subsidiary became larger than its telecom counterpart in some countries on the continent. In Brazil, Digital Power’s revenues quadrupled in two years. “We’re betting that in the next three years, Digital Power will be a new Huawei in Brazil in terms of business volume, due to the potential we see,” analyzes the executive.
With advancing technologies, the levelized cost of electricity from photovoltaic systems decreases. Today, solar energy is considered cheap, viable, and quick, with a lower average generation cost than wind energy, and it is easy to implement. Neto points out that the market potential in Brazil is enormous, describing it as a “giant and greenfield” segment that is still largely unexplored. Furthermore, the VP predicts that with the increased penetration of electric vehicles, there will be a larger market for batteries.
Superchargers, storage systems, and solar energy generation are shaping the future of societies and companies, especially with the advent of regulations for decarbonization and obligations to reduce CO² emissions.
Check the infographic with data from the Brazilian Photovoltaic Solar Energy Association
