Despite being one of the most challenging years in recent decades, 2020 was also marked by the transformation and advancement of the technology sector. In this scenario, Santa Catarina occupies a prominent place. Despite not being among the most populous states, it had the highest growth in the country in the number of technology companies between 2015 and 2020: 63.2%, well above the national average (26.1%). The data are from Tech Report 2021, a study carried out by the Observatório da Associação Catarinense de Tecnologia (ACATE) and by Neoway, with support from Finep. The full study is available at https://www.techreportsc.com/and it was launched this Wednesday, 15th. At the online event, the partnership between ACATE and the Development Agency of the State of Santa Catarina SA – Badesc was also announced to guarantee new options for credit lines to member companies via the ACATE Guarantor Fund, with operations of up to R$ 150 thousand.

With 17,720 companies and growth of 28.4% between 2019 and 2020, the technology ecosystem in Santa Catarina is the sixth largest in the country in number of businesses, according to the Tech Report 2021. Among the capitals, Florianópolis has the highest density of companies by thousand inhabitants, followed by São Paulo and Curitiba. “By taking an in-depth look at the technology sector, we see sustainable growth even in a period of pandemic. With the accelerated digital transformation, we had an increase in revenue, opening of companies and employees. This is the result of innovative entrepreneurship, articulations and partnerships between entities, companies, academia and the Government”, highlights Iomani Engelmann, president of ACATE.

The technology ecosystem in Santa Catarina is present in all the mesoregions of the state. The region of Greater Florianópolis is the most representative, with 32.6% of the total number of companies. Vale do Itajaí (26.3%) and Norte Santa Catarina (19%) appear in sequence. With less representation, the West, South and Serra regions total 3.9 thousand companies operating in the sector (22.1%). Between 2019 and 2020, there was an increase in the number of companies in all regions of Santa Catarina, especially in the South, with expansion of 34.2%, from 1,202 to 1,613 companies.

High productivity and the most specialized state in the country

Considering the ratio between annual revenue and the average number of employees per company, the productivity of the technology sector in Santa Catarina is the third highest in the country among the evaluated UFs, only behind Roraima and Mato Grosso. The revenue of companies from Santa Catarina totaled R$ 65.8 thousand per employee, per year, surpassing the Brazilian average of R$ 56.2 thousand.

In addition, with 67,800 employees, Santa Catarina is the fourth state with the largest number of professionals in the technology sector in Brazil, after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro. In relative terms, the state has 28.6 employees per thousand formal workers, the second highest rate in the country and higher than the national average (17.8).

Another highlight of the study is the recognition of the technology sector in Santa Catarina as the most specialized in Brazil for the third consecutive year, with more than half (61.5%) of the In Core occupations, that is, professionals working directly in companies specialized in technology. In Brazil, this percentage is 42.7%. The study reinforces that the higher the level of employees working In Core, the greater the specialization of the solution. “The trend in Santa Catarina is to advance more and more in the specialization of technology companies. In the last decade, the number of In Core professionals has doubled in the state, reaching 19,000 in 2019. Santa Catarina’s numbers and initiatives are an example of an ecosystem for Brazil and for the world”, stresses Engelmann.

Revenue grows in 2020

The total revenue of the Brazilian technology sector was R$ 426.9 billion in 2020, which represents 5.6% of the country’s GDP. São Paulo concentrates almost half (48.4%) of the total billed, with around R$ 206 billion. Rio de Janeiro (10%), Minas Gerais (6.3%) and Rio Grande do Sul (5.4%) appear in sequence. Compared to 2019, the sector’s revenue in the country grew by 5.4%.

In the sales ranking, Santa Catarina appears in sixth position with sales of R$ 19.8 billion in 2020, which corresponds to 6.1% of Santa Catarina’s GDP. “The technological ecosystem in Santa Catarina is very promising. It is very interesting to follow the evolution of the regional segment. The trend is for us to stand out more and more nationally and internationally”, says Kadu Monguilhott, CEO of Neoway, the largest Big Data Analytics company in Latin America, which was born in Florianópolis.

Mapping of vacancies

The Tech Report 2021 also highlighted the mapping of vacancies in the IT area carried out by ACATE this year. Technology-based companies in Santa Catarina are expected to open 16,612 new jobs by 2023, with more than half of them – 9,303 positions or 56% – being for software developers. The mapping demonstrates the advancement of the technology market each year: there will be 4,500 new jobs by the end of 2021, 5,300 in 2022 and 6,600 in 2023.

ACATE carried out the mapping with technology companies in Santa Catarina and 228 of them formally answered the survey. With the support of professors from the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), the extrapolation of data was carried out. According to statistics, the most demanded functions are Full Stack Developer, Back-end and Front-end, followed by IT service/support analyst and business analyst. Regarding the candidates’ competences, the most demanded ones are knowledge in agile technologies, professional experience in the area, ability in project execution and mastery of programming languages.

“This survey shows that there is a growing demand for professionals in technology companies. If companies from other segments that also need these talents with a technological profile were considered, this number would be much higher. To meet the demand and at the same time generate opportunities for social inclusion through a promising career, we already have initiatives with the participation of various actors in the technology ecosystem”, reinforces ACATE’s vice president of Talents, Moacir Marafon.

Tech Report 2021 Methodology

The main source of the information presented in Tech Report 2021 is the ACATE Observatory BI System, developed by Neoway. The survey includes data from companies, revenues, entrepreneurs and workers. Data from the National Institute of Educational Studies and Research Anísio Teixeira (INEP), the Annual Social Information Report (RAIS) and the General Register of Employed and Unemployed Persons (CAGED) were also consulted.

It is worth noting that Tech Report 2021 had a new format for the activities that make up the sector. In addition, more accurate estimates of company revenues were incorporated. With these changes in methodology, the historical data were updated so that the comparison of growth between years was more reliable in the panorama of the technology sector in Santa Catarina.

The economic activities that identify the sector follow the National Classification of Economic Activities (CNAE 2.0), and are divided into Hardware (Processing Industries), Software and Services (Information and Communication, Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities, Other Service Activities) .

Partnership between ACATE and Badesc

The agreement signed between ACATE and Badesc aims to guarantee operations of up to R$150,000 to member companies with sales of up to R$4.8 million, through credit lines available at Badesc. The ACATE/BADESC Fund will guarantee 80% of the operations, and 20% will be through the (FAE) State Guarantee Fund.

The operation will be carried out by ACATE and Badesc, through digital means. The interested member company should get in touch via the e-mail fundacate@acate.com.br . To access the credit line, you must be an ACATE member for more than six months, have business experience and billing for more than 12 months and be up to date with your social obligations with ACATE, in addition, CNPJ and partners cannot have registration restriction.

Karine Wenzel Analyst |