Rio is preparing to host the G20 Summit and sees growth opportunities with a group of startups

The year 2024 is being remarkable for Rio de Janeiro. The city is preparing to host, between the 18th and 19th of November, the G20 Summit, in which heads of State and Government will approve agreements that were negotiated throughout the year and point out ways to deal with global challenges. For Mayor Eduardo Paes, the event is a culmination of investments that have been made in recent years to boost the city’s protagonism.

– The G20 places Rio, once again, at the center of the world. During the Summit, everyone’s attention will be focused on the city, but before that, throughout the year, we will host hundreds of side events, with businesspeople, scientists, diplomats and important decision-makers in all spheres. The G20 gives Rio the protagonism it deserves as a center for knowledge production and decision-making at a national and global level. Furthermore, it creates relevant investment opportunities in the city linked to sustainable development and the reduction of inequalities. We are the symbol city of Brazil and, this year, the Capital of the G20 – says the mayor.

The mayor also adds that the meeting leaves a multiple legacy for the capital of Rio de Janeiro. In addition to the symbolism of being the host city of a meeting on the scale of the G20, Paes believes that Rio could make concrete gains in the coming years.

– There is a huge political and intellectual legacy, of recovering Rio’s capital, of resuming its centrality. There is also a material legacy, materialized more immediately in attracting investments. The G20 translates into the recapitalization of Rio, in its various meanings – says Eduardo Paes.

The municipality’s expectation is that these results will bring impacts to the city, in all segments. Chicão Bulhões, municipal secretary of Urban and Economic Development, believes that the G20 is an opportunity to present to the world the work that has been done in Rio to encourage the development of the capital and also to include the city in the proposed changes that will be discussed At the forum.

– We have several good structural and long-term projects, which meet themes dear to the world: cutting-edge education in technology and mathematical sciences, projects in the area of ​​green economy, incentives for the carbon credit market and projects that facilitate implementation of innovations in the city of Rio. Our expectation is that Rio will also be part of these global changes. Let us take advantage of the opportunity to understand where the world is going and where we can still spend more energy – points out Bulhões.

Preparation for the Summit began in 2023, when Eduardo Paes created, in June, the Rio G20 Committee, to stimulate, promote and coordinate logistical actions and intellectual initiatives that strengthen Rio’s role as capital of the G20. Lucas Padilha, coordinator of International Relations and Cooperation at the municipality and president of the Rio G20 Committee, explains that all City Hall bodies embraced the event.

– Everyone has prepared operational protocols to support the great moments of diplomacy that will take place in the city throughout 2024. We have developed a common calendar of events and actions with the Federal Government and organized civil society (companies, universities, research institutes and social movements ) sharing responsibilities and resources. The objective is to promote positive synergies for Rio, such as direct investments, long-term relationships and attraction of tourists throughout the year – highlights Padilha.

Meeting reinforces Rio’s leading role in the innovation sector

The G20 has 13 engagement groups that aim to increase the participation of non-governmental actors in the meeting’s activities and decision-making processes. The groups, explains Padilha, are autonomous, share G20 knowledge with the public, and represent aspirations for more inclusion, diversity and effectiveness in international forums.

– Groups such as Startup20, Think20, Women20 and Urban20 seek to influence heads of state, government and important technical leaders around global agendas with local impact. Mayor Eduardo Paes’ strategy was to attract engagement groups to Rio, consolidating social participation as one of the pillars of the Brazilian G20 – adds Lucas Padilha.

Among the highlights is Startup 20, which establishes a dialogue between the various stakeholders in the startup and technology ecosystem. The group is directly linked to the power of Rio de Janeiro, which has established itself as the capital of innovation in Latin America. Alexandre Vermeulen, president of Invest.Rio, believes that the group should further expand the promotion of innovation in the region.

– The strategic agendas of the engagement group revolve around three main pillars and their consequences: ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance), regulations and investments and public policies. The intention is to develop cooperation and business opportunities between member countries, establish important guidelines to foster innovation, create networks between startups and promote business, encourage the Brazilian innovation and technology ecosystem, thus assisting in economic development of the country and overcoming inequalities – explains Vermeulen.

Ingrid Barth, president of the Brazilian Association of Startups (Abstartups), member of the national committee at the G20 and representative of Brazil at the startups summit, has high expectations for the meeting. According to Barth, the country will have an excellent opportunity to showcase the work that has been done in the entrepreneurship and startups sector.

– Rio and Brazil will show how mature we are. It will be very important to lead the discussions and show that we want business. I think the highlights in the debate will be the issue of clean energy, the Amazon, the Environment. We already have very interesting projects in this sector – highlights Barth.

Rio accumulates experience in major events

Mayor Eduardo Paes remembers that Rio is a city with expertise in hosting major events. In 2014, the capital hosted the World Cup, two years later the Olympic Games. It also hosts Rock in Rio, Carnival, New Year’s Eve and major shows and, in 2023, the Web Summit, an international technology event that took place for the first time in Latin America.

– All of this is part of an internationalization effort that also involves attracting major events, such as the Web Summit Rio in the technology area, or 50’s Best in gastronomy; which ranges from the work of building the city’s image through our cinema to the effort to make Galeão, our international airport, viable – points out the mayor.

The connection between the municipality’s innovation sector and the G20 must solidify before the Summit. The second Startup20 meeting will take place in the city, during the next edition of Web Summit Rio, in April

– Hosting these Startup20 discussions, in parallel with the Web Summit, demonstrates Rio’s alignment and commitment to a vision of the future that has innovation as its foundation. We believe that technology has the capacity to be an important ally in reducing inequalities. Qualification, education and encouraging entrepreneurship are key factors for this to happen. Startup20 brings important partners to the city for this construction – concluded the mayor.

Capital of innovation – In the coming days, Rio will inaugurate Porto Maravalley, a technological education hub located in Porto Maravilha, less than 2km from the city center. Installed in a 10,000 m² Rio City Hall warehouse, Maravalley will welcome startups, investors and technology companies, in addition to the Faculty of Mathematics – the first with undergraduate courses from the Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics (IMPA Tech).

One of the municipality’s main projects to transform the port region into the city’s largest innovation hub, Maravalley will be managed by the private sector.