Following a preliminary round of selections
across eight Brazilian cities, IBM announced the finalists for its SmartCamp in
Brazil.
IBM’s SmartCamp brings startups together
with senior government and business leaders from Latin America’s most
progressive cities to mentor them and examine how we can spur economic
development, modernize infrastructures and transform our cities to create a new
urban model.
The five finalists have developed
technology solutions that address some of the world’s most pressing issues
such as traffic, healthcare and food safety. The SmartCamp in Brazil is the
most recent of nine global SmartCamps this year. The winner will be invited to
the next SmartCamp World Finals to square off against other winners from around
the globe to claim the title of “IBM Global Entrepreneur of the
Year.”
With a focus on accelerating the
development of solutions that exploit the vast amount of information already
available across cities to deliver better citizen services, IBM SmartCamp
provides mentorship to early stage start-ups and facilitates access to venture
capital companies.
IDC Government Insights estimates the new
Smarter Cities information technology market opportunity at $34 billion in
2011, increasing more than 18 percent per year to $57 billion by 2014.
“Helping cities address their biggest
challenges requires rapid innovation and an in depth understanding of multiple
industries and the latest technology,” said Jim Corgel, general manager,
Developer Relations, IBM.
IBM SmartCamp Brazil is being held in
conjunction with the IBM Venture Capital Symposium. The events will bring
together entrepreneurs, investors, representatives from universities and IBM
executives, who will discuss business opportunities for companies that develop
solutions that contribute to the daily life of cities and the country’s
development.
Brazil is a key growth market for IBM. The
expansion of IBM’s Global Entrepreneur initiative into Brazil earlier this
year, is part of IBM’s ongoing efforts to engage with entrepreneurs in
key emerging markets, such as Brazil, India, China and Turkey. Collaborating
with entrepreneurs helps fuel global innovation and growth and plays a role in
IBM’s ability to deliver value to clients.
By Telecomlead.com Team
