"It's natural that Brazilian startups lead the global agribusiness sector."

Sebrae Agency - The Brazilian economy has a natural vocation for agribusiness – plenty of fertile land, good climatic conditions. Because of this, the Brazilian countryside has been carrying the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) on its shoulders.

And, unlike the rest of the Brazilian economy, this is a sector that has never had negative prospects. "Brazilian agribusiness has everything to continue its growth trajectory. We have a natural vocation in this sector and that shouldn't change anytime soon," says Pedro Waengertner, CEO of ACE, one of the best accelerators in Latin America, which has a project in the segment in conjunction with BASF.

"Because of this natural trend, national startups in the segment should be some of the best in the world. 'I strongly believe that we will see more and more startups dedicated to agribusiness problems emerging in Brazil, and it is natural that these will be the startups that lead the sector worldwide,' emphasizes the entrepreneur. We share this same vision as Pedro, and that is why we are promoting the Agrotech Conference – the largest event in Brazil on technologies applied to the field."

Imagine the size of the Brazilian market for this type of startup? "If Brazilian agribusiness is gigantic, imagine the size of the opportunities that exist for those who find concrete solutions to the problems in this sector," replies Pedro.

The benefits of startups entering the agribusiness sector are obvious. "Technology has the power to accelerate innovation and bring more efficiency to a wide variety of sectors. Agriculture is no different. This evolution ranges from better crop management to much broader and more complex issues, involving in-depth scientific research," he states.

It's part of the mission of entrepreneurship and innovation: to transform and strengthen all segments of the economy. "Startups will certainly play a fundamental role in this process. We know how much startups innovate in a more agile and effective way, and there's no reason to believe that it would be different with agriculture," he adds.

However, it's important to remember that there are significant differences. "Now, we have to take into account that this is a different sector from many others that have already been quite revolutionized by startups. Sales cycles are quite long, and even validation processes depend on issues such as the harvest, which pose an additional challenge to the sector," he points out.

But of course, good entrepreneurs will handle this with ease. "In any case, startups are innovative by nature and are learning more and more each day how to deal with this," adds the head of ACE.

And to achieve this, they will have the help of major players in the ecosystem, such as large companies and other promoters. "Large companies know this market in detail. They can help in many aspects – from mentoring and market access to the development of joint solutions. I strongly believe that great ideas and advances will emerge from this type of partnership," he concludes.