The spread of the Covid-19 pandemic substantially changed the scenario for the global and Brazilian economies. Reducing impact is the critical point and seeking normality (considering risks and safety) should be the final objective. For this goal, technology and creativity must play important roles for the resumption of growth in economies. 

The crisis caused by Covid-19 increased by 2500% the demand for São Paulo startup Magnamed (www.magnamed.com.br), specialized in pulmonary ventilation. One of the investment companies of Criatec, an investment fund with resources from BNDESPAR and Banco do Nordeste do Brasil (BNB), the company received a request from the Ministry of Health for 6,500 respirators to be distributed to the ICUs that are receiving patients in a severe state.

To meet the request and close the R$ 322.5 million contract, Magnamed increased its production line. According to the Ministry, the company has had the support of a group of companies such as Suzano, Klabin, Positivo Tecnologia, Flex and Embraer, supported by Fiat Chrysler, White Martins, Weg, and BTG Pactual, BV, Itaú, Febraban (Brazilian Federation of Banks), among others.

Robert Binder, founder of Antera Asset Management and one of Criatec's managers, is one of those responsible for the first capital investment received by Magnamed. In 2008, the startup received R$ 1.5 million.

After two other rounds, Criatec's investments in Magnamed totaled R$ 5 million and the company's revenues reached R$ 40 million in 2019. Vox Capital is another investment fund that invested R$ 15 million in the company in 2015.

The expectation now, according to Binder, is that the 2020 result will be ten times higher than that obtained in 2019 - and this should dictate the company's future. But more important than the financial result is the possibility of saving many Brazilian lives with high quality equipment that is manufactured locally.

There comes a point when those who do business in Brazil think they have seen everything: inflation, the most diverse currency crises, recessions typical of wartime but in periods of peace. This is all with an historical backdrop of a gigantic state, an octopus with tentacles that pretends to want to help but only gets in the way. We are now in 2020 and facing a crisis that no one imagined they would find. A crisis that combines global aspects and is exacerbated by our political mishaps and lack of leadership. The result is an economic plunge that certainly frightens everyone - and makes the mission of our industry, today and in the future, even more important than it already was.

The Ministry of Economy, Paulo Guedes, is still trying to convince the military wing of the federal government to leave behind the Pro-Brazil Plan, which preaches the increase of public investments for the economic recovery post-coronavirus.

After a period of silent recollection, the phone rang again in the financial boutiques and investment banks. They are managers and analysts of private equity funds, looking for assets to be acquired. "It was three weeks reading the books and watching the documentaries I wanted and had no time. In a week, the movement has returned, we are updating presentation materials, reopening processes that were frozen and that we hadn't even launched yet," says a banker.

The cloud-based e-commerce trading platform Vtex, a Brazilian startup invested by VC and PE houses such as Gávea Investimentos among others, announced the acquisition of two companies: dLieve, a logistics company, and Biggy, an artificial intelligence company.

The privatization process of Santos and São Sebastião ports has just been kicked off. The Ministry of Infrastructure has formalized the hiring of the Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES) to prepare the studies and the modeling of transfer of the two ports to private firms. The tentative schedule foresees that the studies will be concluded in the first half of 2021 and the public hearings will take place in the second half of the year.

The American company Sovos, provider of software and services for tax compliance and reporting ,bought the Brazilian company Taxweb, which operates in the same segment. The value of the deal was not disclosed. It is the third acquisition of the company in the country in three years. In the last two years the company has invested more than R$ 15 million in Brazil. Created in 2009, Taxweb has about 200 employees and serves 300 clients.

At least three companies intend to move forward in negotiations with Petrobras to close the purchase of assets of the state-owned company, even in the face of the crisis caused by the covid-19 pandemic and the oil price shock. Australian company Karoon and Brazilian company PetroRio have already expressed interest in concluding the acquisition of the Baúna and Frade fields, respectively, in recent weeks.

Startups that serve other companies are not usually well-known to the public, but attract a growing interest from investors. DOMO Invest, a venture capital fund manager, has created a fund especially to invest in these startups.

The Jair Bolsonaro government evaluates increasing the profit margin of concessions to attract private investments of at least R$ 100 billion. Even consortium formation rules may be changed. This year's concession schedule should be maintained for at least 20 projects. Auctions are scheduled for the second half of the year.

With business models still very much linked to the offline world, Brazilian companies in the sector are still struggling to recover to the market value before the crisis. This is what a study by Itaú BBA points out.

Startups from all over Brazil are adapting or developing systems that can help fight the covid-19 pandemic. According to a survey by the Innovation Agency of Unicamp (Inova), which opened a public call to select and disseminate new tools, among 69 proposals received between March 20 and April 7, 53.6% are from companies in São Paulo, in addition to Minas Gerais (8.7%), Rio Grande do Sul (8.7%), Pernambuco (7.3%) and Rio de Janeiro (4.3%).

Celebrated as the biggest business in Brazilian aviation, the partnership between the giant Boeing and the Brazilian manufacturer Embraer was cancelled 21 months after it was announced and runs the risk of becoming a legal dispute that could drag on for years in court.

Justice and Public Security Minister Sergio Moro resigned from his post, leaving the government of President Jair Bolsonaro after almost 16 months in charge.