The mission of the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil) is to promote exportation of Brazilian products and services, contributing to the internationalization of Brazilian companies and attracting foreign investment to Brazil. As an instance of strategy formulation, Apex-Brasil is a Brazilian government agency linked to the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade (MDIC).
Apex-Brasil currently provide support to more than 13,000 companies in 80 productive sectors of the Brazilian economy exporting to more than 200 markets. Through initiatives undertaken in a partnership with organizations of industrial sectors, the Agency organizes trade promotion activities, such as prospective and trade missions, business roundtables, supporting the participation of Brazilian companies in major international exhibitions and visits of foreign buyers and opinion formers to know the Brazilian productive structure. It also produces trade and competitive intelligence studies with the purpose of guiding decisions of domestic corporations on their entrance into international markets.
Besides its headquarters in Brasilia, Apex-Brasil has Desks in Brazilian states and Business Support Centers (CNs) around the world. Those centers serve as platforms to assist the process of internationalization of Brazilian companies exploring business opportunities and increase their participation in key global markets, and serve as a benchmark for attracting foreign investment. CNs are strategically located in Asia (Beijing - China), Middle East (Dubai - United Arab Emirates), North America (Miami - USA), Central America and the Caribbean (Havana - Cuba), Western Europe (Brussels - Belgium) Eastern Europe (Moscow - Russia) and Africa (Luanda - Angola). Next to the Brussels CN are the Brazilian Business Affairs (BBA), Office of Apex-Brasil and the National Confederation of Industry (CNI), whose function is to monitor trends and decisions of the European Union that may affect Brazilian exports.
The agency also coordinates efforts to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) for the country, working to identify business opportunities and promoting strategic events and assuring support to foreign investors throughout the whole process in Brazil. The objective is to attract productive capital from foreign companies that may incorporate technological innovations, new business management models and deepen the supply chains.
As to the international cooperation, Apex-Brasil co-ordinates important global forums and heads the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) and the Iberian-American Network of Trade Promotion Organizations (REDIBERO), consolidating Brazil as a regional reference in the promotion of exports and attracting foreign direct investments.