The Brazil-Ireland Chamber of Commerce has been established as a new report shows there are 1,300 Brazilian businesses in Ireland.  

The organisation will act as a support for Brazilian-owned companies based in Ireland, Irish companies seeking to expand to Brazil and Brazilian companies exporting to Ireland.   

The report, published by consultants Unleashe, found that there are 70,000 Brazilians living in Ireland.

According to the report, Brazilian businesses in Ireland have generated over €100 million in revenue.

Brazil-Ireland Chamber of Commerce President, Fernanda Hermanson, told Business Breakfast with Joe Lynam that Brazilians in Ireland are a “diverse community of entrepreneurs”.  

Ms Hermanson said most Brazilian businesses in Ireland are manufacturing and food, while others include hairdressing, restaurants and IT services.  

Some 82% of these businesses are owned by women - Ms Hermanson said this is because many Brazilian immigrants are moving “in couples”, with many men working in engineering and women starting their own businesses.  

She said the Brazil-Ireland Chamber of Commerce will support these businesses owners in the “challenging” Irish system.  

While the Irish commerce system is “less bureaucratic” than Brazil’s, Ms Hermanson said “52% of the Brazilian business owners consider it very challenging to understand local legislation”.  

“We will offer a variety of services like information services, practical guidance on how to start a business in Ireland, we are going to develop handbooks,” she said.  

The Chamber will also establish a series of networking beauty events “to accommodate all types of enterprises”.  

Connecting Ireland and Brazil 

Ms Hermanson said it will also support Irish businesses that want to establish themselves in Brazil – but their main focus will be in Brazilian companies. 

She said they will provide advice and guidance to Brazilian companies exporting to Ireland, which will help existing Brazilian businesses in Ireland.  

She said: “33% of companies that are here, they say that they face challenges to access raw materials and supplies. Many of them want to bring this materials and supplies from Brazil.” 

Ms Hermanson said the Chamber will connect businesses in Brazil to businesses in Ireland to provide access to raw materials.  

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