Re: A general question : Is it safe to start a business in Fortaleza as a foreigner? Posted: Tue January 10, 2012 06:13 PM UTC
There isn't a simple answer to that question. Without knowing the specific type of business, it is harder still to advise.
First of all, can you even qualify for an investor visa? (Some gringos don't realize that you can't just move to Brazil to live permanently simply because you want to.) Regulations/conditions, regsarding actual monetary investment and number of jobs created, for an investment visa (which is a visa for a limited time span anyway) have been revised, and really, no one is quite sure how this will pan out in the longterm.
The northeast is a huge amount of territory, each city with a different character from the others, also varying from neighborhood to neighborhood, so there is no one answer.
Living in Brazil is a very different proposition from living anywhere else, and this includes taking in stride crime and an economy that is not cresting for all (despite news reports), especially in the poorer northeast. Some people think that with reducing drug traffic in Rio, the trade is moving more into the northeast. Also, with the world economic crisis, there are less tourists and their dollars/euros being spent in Brazil for any business that involves that sector.
As a gringo, you will be taken advantage of at every turn, since you are perceived to be rich, with unlimited funds. It is often best to have a Brazilian friend act for you in many matters.
And that brings up the key to success in Brazil, which is personal contacts, through which most business is done. Only you know what your network in Brazil, in any of the mentioned cities, is like.
I suggest you do a search on the subject and/or post on the forum of the expat site www.gringoes.som, where the topic has come up a number of times, to get a wider response from more resident expats.
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