The government of the Federative Republic of Brazil, represented by the Ministry of Economy (ME), and the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, represented by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), have been cooperating since 2019 to promote inclusive economic growth in Brazil through the internationalisation of Brazilian micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
This cooperation is a direct result of the 20 August 2019 Memorandum of Understanding between the Foreign & Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (FCO) and the Ministry of Economy of the Federative Republic of Brazil (ME) on Prosperity Fund Cooperation on Trade Facilitation.
The main deliverable of this cooperation is the Global Trade Hub (GTH), or BRAEXP in its Brazilian brand name, a digital marketplace for export services focused on MSMEs and based on the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) Integrated Services for MSMEs in International Trade (ISMIT) concept, to be fully developed and transferred to Brazilian ownership and operation by March 2023.
An early outcome of this cooperation is the full digitisation and automation of the Brazilian National Plan of Export Culture (PNCE) export maturity self-assessment service, based on a benchmarked methodology originally developed by the Brazilian National Confederation of Industry (CNI). The PNCE service allows any Brazilian MSME from any region or sector and with access to the internet to self-assess its export maturity and receive, for free, a tailor-made internationalisation plan with the identification of the export services it needs to consume to access or expand its sales in international markets.
The PNCE service digitisation, automation, and technological transfer to ME was concluded in July 2022. While the service is already available to Brazilian MSMEs, it will be fully integrated into the GTH once the digital marketplace for export services is transferred to Brazilian ownership and operation and goes online.
The PNCE service and the GTH digital marketplace are based on open source, cloud-ready, and cutting-edge technology as well as on innovative international best practices. They place Brazil as a leader among emerging economies in the digitisation of foreign trade procedures and trade facilitation, as well as demonstrate the value of British Official Development Assistance (ODA) to foster inclusive economic growth and strengthen bilateral economic partnerships.
FCDO will continue to provide technical and financial support to the delivery of the GTH until March 2023 while ME will continue to lead negotiations with GTH stakeholders to secure a Technical Cooperation Agreement with a roadmap for the full implementation of the digital marketplace and the definition of its final legal and financial models. ME will also aim at adopting a new brand name for PNCE with a view to increasing MSMEs awareness and use of the service.
The Brazilian and British governments consider their cooperation on inclusive economic growth through the internationalisation of MSMEs as very successful and will continue cooperating with a view to concluding it by March 2023.
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