South Summit: Founder of Waze, director of Shein and Cris Arcangeli, renowned speakers open the third edition

Uri Levine  performs at South Summit Brazil.
Credit: Thirty Seventeen | 3017 (@trintadezessete)

Founder of Waze, director of Shein and Cris Arcangeli: renowned speakers open the third edition of South Summit Brazil

Cais Mauá hosted prominent speakers from Brazil and abroad, in a journey full of content, knowledge exchange and connections in Porto Alegre

The third edition of South Summit Brazil began this Wednesday (20) in Porto Alegre (RS), meeting the high expectations surrounding the event. Thousands of people from approximately 50 countries, including startups, investors, corporations and the general public, visited Cais Mauá throughout the day to experience a journey with lots of content, knowledge exchange and connections. Considered one of the biggest events in the innovation and business ecosystem in Latin America, South Summit Brazil will be held until this Friday (22).

The opening ceremony of the event took place on the main stage of Cais Mauá, the Arena Stage. The welcome was given by José Renato Hopf, president of South Summit Brazil, and María Benjumea, founder of South Summit in Spain in 2012. The region’s main public authorities were also present, such as the governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Eduardo Leite, and the mayor of Porto Alegre, Sebastião Melo, as well as Jorge Audy, president of the Honor Council of South Summit Brazil and vice-president of innovation and development at PUCRS/Tecnopuc. The Government of Rio Grande do Sul is a co-organizer of South Summit Brazil, as is IE University.

In the morning, at the welcome ceremony at the Arena Stage that featured José Renato Hopf and María Benjumea, the federal government was also present on stage with Luciana Santos, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation.

“Every time I go up on this stage, I feel like it’s the first time. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m fascinated by technology and business, and it’s no wonder that I dedicate my life to it. But above all I’m a dreamer, fascinated for moments like this, which make the heart vibrate and make everything worthwhile. I and everyone involved with innovation in Porto Alegre dreamed of this moment, of hosting a global meeting that celebrates innovation and is a business catalyst”, said José Renato Hopf.

“I would like to thank the presence of all public entities and international investors, startups and corporations who are here with us, at this wonderful event on the banks of the Guaíba. We hope that everyone makes valuable connections during this meeting”, said María Benjumea.

The first day of South Summit Brazil already brought one of the main attractions of the content program. Israeli Uri Levine, founder of Waze and considered one of the most renowned entrepreneurs on the planet, was at the Arena Stage as part of the Innovation Sessions, signed by Rio Grande Seguros e Previdência. In a well-attended lecture, Levine spoke to the audience on the topic “Fall in love with the problem, not the solution”, which is the title of one of his published books.

“If you have children, teach them to fail. The faster they fail, the faster they will find solutions,” said Levine, who added. “People don’t stop dreaming when they get older, but they get older precisely when they stop dreaming”, said the entrepreneur.

The day also featured the presentation of other highlights among the South Summit Brazil speakers. In the morning, Cris Arcangeli, considered one of the main serial entrepreneurs in Brazil and founder of companies such as Phytoervas, Phyta, PH – Arcangeli, Éh Cosméticos and Beauty’in, spoke about the topic of futurism.

“If we can anticipate what will happen in 10 years, we will become billionaires. So the way is to study the scenario of your market, and start to project possible scenarios. We went through a gigantic crisis recently, which generated transformations in our way of thinking and do things. The world is changing rapidly. That’s what futurism is, it’s trying to understand what is happening and what people want, especially in relation to the collective unconscious. The entire planet is thinking more or less the same thing, and that’s what we need to capture”, said Cris Arcangeli.

Cris Arcangeli at South Summit Brazil this Wednesday.
Credit: Thirty Seventeen | 3017 (@trintadezessete)

Also in the first hours of the event, another renowned speaker who shared his insights and vision of the market with the public was Felipe Feistler, general director of Shein in Brazil, who participated in the panel “Recipe for success for a global retailer”. The executive pointed out in his presentation that the brand wants to reach the goal of 85% of products sold with national origin, textiles manufactured in the country. Currently, this percentage is 55%.

“We reinforce our commitment to the country by bringing more Brazilian fashion. And we will start to bring increasingly regional fashion. We will grow not only our presence, but above all our production of national fashion by investing more and more in regionalization, so that people are able to express themselves in accordance with their customs and values”, reinforced Feistler.

The scenario for investments in venture capital was also detailed by the main market players. The topic was addressed in the panel “Is venture capital a viable asset class in Brazil?”, mediated by Marcella Falcão, leader of the Corporate and Investor Relations team at Cubo Itaú. Participating in the conversation were Cesar Collier, managing partner at Siguler Guff; Andrew Hancock, managing director of the Julius Baer Family Office; and Carlos Renato Moreno de Almeida, senior investment officer at IFC World Bank. The executives assessed that the moment is positive.

“There’s a famous phrase in the corporate world that is ‘buy at the sound of cannons and sell at the sound of violins’. We are at the moment of cannons. We are already Late Stage investors and are actively looking (with six funds in our pipeline), observing a very interesting maturity in Brazil. This is the time to go shopping”, commented Cesar Collier.

In addition to the panels and the extensive content program, the first day of South Summit Brazil was also marked by the start of presentations by the Startup Competition finalists. The startups selected to participate in the final phase took to the stage to show their pitches to the audience, in the quest to win the winner award in one of the five categories (Highlight; Most Scalable; Most Sustainable; Most Innovative; and Best Team). The winners will be announced on Friday (22).

South Summit Brazil leaders, public authorities and sponsors gathered at the public welcome ceremony.
Credit: Thirty Seventeen | 3017 (@trintadezessete)

About South Summit Brazil

A global meeting point between investment funds, companies and startups, South Summit Brazil arrived in Porto Alegre in 2022. It emerged in Madrid 11 years ago and has already generated 13 USD Bi raised by startups throughout the Startup Competition. In the 2023 edition, the 22 thousand square meters of area welcomed 50 countries, 3 thousand startups, 900 speakers, 150 sponsors, more than 100 investment funds, 30 of which were international, around 600 investors, which generated USD 19 billion in investment available for LATAM and USD 123 billion of funds under management. South Summit Brazil is co-organized by the Government of the State of Rio Grande do Sul and IE University, and will take place on the 20th, 21st and 22nd of March, at Cais Mauá.