Brazil and Santa Catarina, the United Kingdom’s traditional trading partners that include England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, are working to further expand the business. This was the purpose of a visit to Florianopolis by Jonathan Knott, Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Latin America and the Caribbean, British Embassy in Sao Paulo.
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He was in town on Tuesday and Wednesday this week (21st and 22nd) to address companies, potential investors and a panel at the ESG Summit Brazil event on “Green Investments and Incentives”.
According to Jonathan Country, the United Kingdom wants to strengthen trade with southern Brazil, particularly with Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul. Therefore, in addition to this visit, the diplomatic team is looking for more information to expand contacts with institutions in SC. Also, inform British companies about the current business situation in the region.
According to him, there are opportunities in many fields like clean energy, education, English language, technology, finance, health and agribusiness. In the area of green economy, he highlights technologies for installing offshore wind farms and generating energy from sanitary wastewater (which is carried out through biogas production).
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During his visit to Florianopolis, Consul General Jonathan Knott was accompanied by Michael Delaney, the British Honorary Consul in Santa Catarina. Next, read Country’s interview for the column:
What is the mission of the consulate in the economic sector??
– Our work is to increase and increase trade flows between the UK and Latin American and Caribbean countries. We have a team of 160 people. I live in São Paulo and now, I am very interested in increasing trade with Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul. We have an important group in São Paulo. I see the potential to create a new trade and business environment in South India. We want to provide business opportunities for Santa Catarina and British entrepreneurs to create new partnerships.
What sectors are the United Kingdom interested in doing business with, particularly Brazil and the south of the country??
– Generally, we think they are agriculture, health, education, infrastructure and defense and finance sectors. There are a number of areas where we have already seen potential for partnership between British and Brazilian companies. In order to show what the United Kingdom has to offer companies in Santa Catarina, we want to know more about the situation in the state, which until now, perhaps, did not consider the possibility of working with British businessmen.
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We already have British investments in Santa Catarina. One of the companies is ActivTrades, an investment platform in the financial sector. I hope we will have more companies in the future and also companies from Santa Catarina in the United Kingdom. The business can be grown and globalized through units in London or other cities in the United Kingdom. We can support these new businesses.
Which sectors of the British economy have the most potential to open businesses in Brazil and Santa Catarina??
– There are many fields. One of them is health. But it all depends on local interests. Therefore, the purpose of the visit now is to find out where to find the best possibilities and options for businessmen in Santa Catarina. I believe we have two obstacles. One is regulation. See how to import and export.
Another important issue for me is the knowledge of the British offer here and the Brazilian offer in the UK. To me, that’s something we have to work on. A Brazilian entrepreneur from Santa Catarina might quickly think of an Italian or American company. I want you to think about the possibility of working in a British company. This was one of the purposes of my visit to Santa Catarina.
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What careers are made in the field of education??
– Includes English teaching institutions; Distance Education and Technologies for Education. This area of technology for education is very strong in the UK. Fiesc has already undertaken some projects in this area. But the main thing in England is teaching English. Perhaps we are better prepared for this service. We have seen in Latin America that technology helps a lot in education. This includes teaching in English or other areas. We want companies to know about the British offering in the education sector.
You also came to Florianópolis to speak on the green economy at the ESG Summit in Brazil. What is the UK’s priority in this area??
– The green economy is at the fore in the UK. We have many solutions in renewable energy generation, wind and others. We can provide technologies and business experience. Technology can be provided in the offshore wind turbine segment. In this part of the green economy, we also talk about infrastructure and sewage treatment. We also have the technology to generate electricity from sanitary sewage. This is a topic of interest at COP30 in November 2025 in Belem, Para. The UK has a lot of technology in the clean energy sector and we can share everything we do through partnerships with companies like Santa Catarina and Brazil.
People from Santa Catarina like to tour United Kingdom. Britishers rarely come to the state. Who can exchange and trade in this area??
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– We have a team to attract more Brazilian tourists to the UK. We have an important tourism sector with well developed tourism infrastructure. We have a little bit of everything. Many activities are linked to the creative economy, which is well developed. Many cities in England are taking advantage of something local to turn it into a tourist attraction. This may be a reference to Santa Caterina. Expertise is a strong point.
How are you dealing with international business after Brexit (when the United Kingdom leaves the European Union in January 2021)?
– We have an important exchange with the European Union. It is a major partner of the UK. But we need to diversify to grow. That’s why we do this work in Latin America.
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