Companies in the sector
Santa Catarina has the sixth-largest number of technology companies in the country, accounting for 5% of the national total. The top three in this ranking are São Paulo, with 222,000 companies (38%), Minas Gerais, with 51,900 (8.8%), and Rio de Janeiro, with 51,800 (8.8%).
Last year, the number of companies in Santa Catarina grew by 6.2%, the highest growth rate in Brazil and well above the national average, which saw a small decline of 0.3%. Besides Santa Catarina, Espírito Santo, Paraíba, and Amapá also saw significant growth in the number of companies.
+ 29.3 thousand
Companies in the technology sector of SC
6°
largest state in Brazil
+6.2%
growth in 2024
20%
of companies opened in Santa Catarina during 2024 operate online
Technology companies in Brazil
By the end of 2024, the Brazilian technology sector had 585,500 companies.
The number went from 415 thousand in 2021 to 509 thousand in 2022, representing an increase of 22.4%
In the last year, the technology sector registered a drop of 0.3%.
Distribution of technology companies in Brazil
The state of São Paulo is the largest hub of technology companies in Brazil, with 222 thousand companies (38% of the total).
In the last year, 15 states saw a drop in the total number of companies during the period, but the declines in the states of São Paulo (-0.4%), Rio de Janeiro (-4.49%) and Rio Grande do Sul (-1.26%) stand out.
Santa Catarina companies
A national leader in the technology sector, Santa Catarina is the sixth-largest state in the sector. Since ACATE's founding in 1986, when there were approximately 100 companies, growth has been exponential.
In 2024, the sector will maintain a rapid growth rate in the number of companies, with the highest growth rate in Brazil.
Evolution of companies in the technology sector in Santa Catarina
When ACATE was founded in 1986, it is estimated that there were around 100 companies dedicated to developing technological solutions. Since then, the number of incorporated companies has grown.
Of the total number of active companies, just over a thousand were founded in the last century, but 42% of them are less than 5 years old.
Distribution of technology companies in Santa Catarina
Among the regions of Santa Catarina, Greater Florianópolis stands out as the largest state hub in the technology sector, with just over a third of the state's total companies, totaling 33.7%.
In total, there are approximately 9,300 companies in the capital region. Next come the Itajaí Valley (7,200 companies, representing 26.3%), North (4,800 companies, representing 15.6%), West (2,800 companies, representing 10%), South (2,700 companies, representing 10%) and Serrana (0,700 companies, representing 2.4%).
Over the past three years, all regions have seen growth in the total number of companies. The Greater Florianópolis and South regions stand out, seeing the number of companies increase by more than 50%.
In the general scenario of opening companies in Santa Catarina, the increase in the percentage of companies opting for online operations (activity carried out via the internet) is also noteworthy.
Starting in January 2020, this percentage rose from around 5% to 20% two years later. Over the past year, the share of online businesses has continued to grow, reaching 23% by the end of 2023.
This data reinforces the technology sector's potential to meet the demand for digitalization of companies and businesses in the state.
Evolution of the number of partners in technology companies
São Paulo is the state with the largest number of entrepreneurs in the sector, reaching 240,095 partners in 2023. This trajectory is followed by Rio de Janeiro, which saw a steady increase, reaching 56,111 partners in the same year. Minas Gerais and Paraná also showed notable growth, albeit on a smaller scale, with Minas Gerais growing to 49,942 partners in 2023 and Paraná reaching 37,491 in the same period.
Santa Catarina ranks sixth in the state with the largest number of entrepreneurs in the sector. The growth in the number of partners in the mesoregions highlights concentrated development in regions such as Greater Florianópolis, Itajaí Valley, and Northern Santa Catarina. In 2023, Greater Florianópolis stood out with 10,662 new partners, making it the mesoregion with the highest growth, followed by Itajaí Valley with 8,103 partners and Northern Santa Catarina with 6,023 new partners.
Nationally, the average age of members remains around 41, with a considerable percentage of men representing a significant majority of the total number of members (76%). In Santa Catarina, the average age is 40, and the percentage of men is also high, especially in Greater Florianópolis, where 79% of members are men.