Northern Parana, Brazil

Northern Parana has strong universities, a diversified economy, and a growing startup community, yet its innovation-driven entrepreneurial ecosystem remains fragmented. Weak coordination among municipalities, academia, and industry, outdated university–industry linkages, scarce early-stage funding, and slow digital adoption—especially in agriculture and manufacturing—limit regional impact. Talent retention and advanced tech skills gaps further constrain growth in emerging areas like AI, data science, and automation.

Through MIT REAP, Northern Parana seeks to unify stakeholders around a shared, evidence-based innovation strategy. The program will help align government, universities, and industry; strengthen governance and investment mechanisms; and cultivate high-impact ventures in agtech, healthtech, edtech, and smart-city solutions—positioning the region as a leading inclusive and AI-enabled innovation hub in Latin America.