In addition to pushing for structural reforms (such as social security, tax and labor), Brazilian companies need to seek greater operational, commercial and financial efficiency if they want a more secure and productive business environment. This statement was made by the CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce (Amcham), Deborah Vieitas, who participated in the debate titled “The Role of Companies and Entrepreneurial Vision”, held by the OneMBA program of FGV’s Sao Paulo School of Business Administration (EAESP) – considered the top Executive MBA program in Latin America by the Financial Times.

“In this century, 65% of the Brazilian economy’s gains came from the increase in workforce, while only 35% came from the increase in the value added per worker, which means that our productivity is virtually stagnant”, said the executive, who is also a former student of the institution. “In light of the demographic transition that Brazil will undergo in the next decade, the only way to grow in a sustainable way is by raising work productivity, but this challenge is not just related to technology”.

According to a study by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) for Amcham, the most successful companies in Latin America strive for excellence in their relationship with customers and employees, and invest in innovation and people through recruitment programs, continuous training and talent retention. This allows them to achieve reductions of up to 20% in inventory levels and 30% in the efficiency of the sales force.

In addition to these aspects, Luciano Araújo, responsible for MIT BootCamps in Brazil (an initiative of the renowned U.S. institution to empower entrepreneurs all over the world) pointed out that both entrepreneurs out of major companies and “intra-preneurs" (employees who develop new initiatives within established organizations) can benefit from technology to stop focusing only on processes and concentrate on the solutions that their products can offer to customer problems.

“The use of new languages and tools provides not only financial gains, but also a shift in mindset that helps increase the efficiency of the economic environment as a whole”.

According to OneMBA Coordinator Jorge Carneiro, it is crucial for graduate courses to incorporate the entrepreneurial mindset across the different areas of their organizations.

“Our classes are made up of experienced managers of about 20 different nationalities who bring complementary and innovative perspectives due to their diversity in terms of academic training and experience in different industries and functional areas. All of this promotes mental flexibility while encouraging each student to “think outside the box”, as they face different perspectives when developing projects in global teams that can serve as engines for innovation in their markets”. The debate is part of a series of events held by OneMBA to discuss Brazil’s challenges and perspectives over the next decade.