By Rui Dantas.

You already know that Brazil’s Northeast is a fantastic tourist destination. But the sheer number of visitors may be obscuring another attraction that has proven extraordinary: investment. There is a great deal of it. And the skill of entrepreneurs has overcome local boundaries to conquer Brazil and the world.

Since 2022, the region has experienced slightly higher growth than the country as a whole, according to Brazil’s Central Bank. While the national economy grew 12.43%, the Northeast expanded its regional GDP by 12.54% during the same period. Economists from several institutions, using projections considered conservative, expect the Northeastern economy to grow approximately 2.5 percentage points more than the rest of the country by 2031 (around 15.5% compared to 13% for national GDP).

“Where it was once seen as the ‘ugly duckling,’ the Northeast has become attractive due to several factors, such as investments in wind and solar energy in the semi-arid region, investments in port infrastructure, and the growth of the Matopiba agricultural frontier [an acronym referring to the states of Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí, and Bahia],” says Bruno Cruz, economist at the Institute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea) and a specialist in the region’s economic figures. “There has also been a strengthening of technology hubs such as Porto Digital in Pernambuco and Campina Grande in Paraíba, which enabled the creation of numerous startups and attracted companies such as Google and Microsoft.”

Cruz also highlights the “expansion of international flights to the region and investments aimed at receiving more tourists” as examples of how the Northeast’s economic reality has been changing. Another reason, according to him, is a significant improvement in education, especially in Ceará and Piauí, with new universities and federal institutes spread across several states. “We have also seen highway duplication projects and investments in the Transnordestina railway.”

As an example of the Northeast’s strength, Paraíba entrepreneur Philipe Moura, founder of Vinci Ventures, a fund specializing in financing startups, notes that today the Campina Grande region and its federal university are among his company’s favorite investment destinations. The area has become an innovation hub, with more than one hundred startups in operation, making the city, according to Moura, “the second-largest patent holder in Brazil [85 in 2024], behind only Petrobras.” Sebrae estimates there are more than 5,500 companies of this type in the Northeast.

“THE PECÉM COMPLEX STANDS OUT FOR ITS CLEAN AND ABUNDANT ENERGY, AND THE ARRIVAL OF FIBER OPTIC CABLES IN FORTALEZA HAS MADE THE REGION ONE OF THE MOST CONNECTED ON THE PLANET.”
Max Quintino, CEO of the Pecém Complex.

“WE RECEIVED AN INVESTMENT FROM GENERAL ATLANTIC IN 2016. TODAY, AFTER OUR IPO IN 2020, WE HAVE 1,700 STORES IN EVERY STATE IN BRAZIL.” Deusmar Queirós, founder of Pague Menos.

NOT AN INVASION: A DUTCH PARTNERSHIP

Among the major investments currently underway, Ceará’s Pecém Complex may be the most impressive.
The site combines a world-class port terminal with an industrial district that includes the first Export Processing Zone (ZPE) operating in Brazil. A joint venture between the state government and the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the complex expects total investments of around R$140 billion over the next decade, according to the most optimistic forecasts. It currently handles 20.9 million tons of cargo, is expected to double its operations with the arrival of the Transnordestina railway, employs 80,000 people directly and indirectly, and aims to double that number within five years.

“The Pecém Complex stands out for its clean and abundant energy, the arrival of fiber optic cables in Fortaleza [18 cables land at Praia do Futuro in the state capital], making the region one of the most connected on the planet, and the Export Processing Zone, which was named the best in the world by a specialized publication linked to the Financial Times. The participation of the Port of Rotterdam also contributes decisively through technical expertise and credibility,” says Max Quintino, CEO of the Pecém Complex.

It is no coincidence that ByteDance chose the site to host TikTok’s global operations. Soon after, Pátria Investimentos created Omnia, a project designed to build a tailor-made data center for the Chinese company and other clients.

“Omnia’s project is the first service-export operation based in Brazil and was designed to be fully sustainable, using 100% renewable energy and a closed-loop liquid cooling system to minimize water consumption,” says Rodrigo Abreu, CEO of the company. High water usage is one of the major concerns for this type of operation, along with heavy electricity consumption.

By 2029, the Pecém data center will include two buildings with a capacity of 200 megawatts, totaling 70,000 square meters of built area on a 35,000-hectare site, at a total cost of US$2 billion.
But not all investments shaping the Northeast and Ceará today come from abroad. One example of local entrepreneurship that conquered all Brazilian states is the Pague Menos pharmacy chain, the second-largest in the country, founded by businessman Deusmar Queirós. The son of a grocery store owner, Deusmar helped found the now-defunct Ceará Stock Exchange in 1977. Gifted with remarkable persuasion skills and a strong business instinct developed by working alongside his father since childhood, the economist graduated from the Federal University of Ceará and opened the first Pague Menos store in 1981, occupying just 50 square meters.

“By the end of our founding year, we already had five stores. In 1988, we pioneered utility bill payment services for water, electricity, and telephone bills. Within 20 years, we had expanded to 10 states. By 2006, we had become the largest chain in the sector in Brazil,” says the founding partner proudly. Competitors fought back, and the company fell to third place. Pague Menos then responded: in 2016, it received a R$600 million investment from the American fund General Atlantic in exchange for 17% of the company. Four years later, it went public on Brazil’s stock exchange, B3, and today operates around 1,700 stores nationwide. The family also owns a transportation company, real estate investments, and the personal hygiene brand Dauf, sold in the chain’s stores. Last year, the group generated R$16 billion in revenue.

“MOURA DUBEUX HAS LONG BEEN CONSOLIDATED IN THE HIGH-END MARKET, AND NOW WE ALSO HAVE MOOD IN THE MID-RANGE SEGMENT, AS WELL AS ÚN1CA, TARGETING THE ‘MY HOUSE, MY LIFE’ PROGRAM.” Diego Villar, CEO da Moura Dubeux.

IN PERNAMBUCO, THE TERMINAL IS JUST THE BEGINNING

Operating in the Pecém Complex since 2002, APM Terminals, the port operations arm of the Danish giant Maersk, realized it could do even more in the Northeast.

In 2023, it acquired a 50-hectare site at the Port of Suape in Pernambuco. Scheduled to begin operations next August, the project will be completed in two phases by 2028. The terminal will operate entirely on electricity, with investments totaling R$2.1 billion.

The new facility will more than double the import and export container capacity at the Port of Suape, which handled around 24 million tons last year.

“The Suape region is attractive due to its already established industrial and logistics base, and the new terminal aims to support the area’s continued growth,” explains Daniel Rose, managing director of the company. “The terminal will be more modern, with remote-controlled operation of most equipment, contributing to workplace safety and diversity by employing more women.”

Another Pernambuco-based group that conquered the entire region is the real estate developer and construction company Moura Dubeux.

In 1983, brothers Gustavo, Aluísio, and Marcos decided to jointly build an apartment building to live in the upscale Apipucos neighborhood in Recife. Engineers by profession, they also decided to oversee the construction closely to reduce costs and risks. The project’s success was so significant that, in 1987, the three founded the development company, which is now the undisputed leader throughout the Northeast. Operating in seven of the region’s nine states (excluding Piauí and Maranhão), Moura Dubeux plans to launch R$5 billion in real estate projects this year. The company weathered the sector crisis between 2015 and 2018 with determination and went public in 2020, raising more than R$1 billion on the stock market.

Last year, the company recorded net revenue of R$2.35 billion.

“We also launched Mood, a brand focused on the mid-range segment with two- and three-bedroom apartments, in 2023. In 2024, we created Ún1ca, focused on the Minha Casa Minha Vida housing program, with its first launches scheduled for the first quarter of 2026,” says Diego Villar, CEO of Moura Dubeux. He believes that by diversifying its target audience, the company will reach R$5.5 billion in project launches within five years.

Another example of the perseverance of the Northeastern people is the story of the meatpacking company Masterboi, which generated around R$4.9 billion in revenue in 2025. Coming from a family of 11 children, siblings Nelson and Guilhermina Bezerra left Caruaru, Pernambuco, and moved to Recife in 1986. At the age of 18, and having studied only through the sixth grade, Nelson was already running a butcher shop in a small stall at the Afogados public market, initially selling chicken bones in 1988. Highly customer-focused, Bezerra later began selling beef and built a loyal clientele among restaurant owners in Pernambuco’s capital. A decade later, he managed to buy a house near the butcher shop and built a cold storage facility to improve logistics.

“THE EXISTENCE OF AN ESTABLISHED INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX AND THE PROXIMITY TO THE PORT WERE DECISIVE FACTORS FOR BYD’S CHOICE OF BAHIA.” Alexandre Baldy, Senior Vice President of BYD.

In 2000, the siblings founded Masterboi, also investing in refrigerated trucks and diversifying the portfolio to include poultry, fish, processed meats, and vegetables. The business grew so much that in 2007, following the advice of one of his employees, Nelson decided to build a processing plant in São Geraldo do Araguaia, in the state of Pará, which was completed in 2015. Before that, in 2009, the company expanded again by leasing a meatpacking plant in Nova Olinda, Tocantins. In 2012, they identified the opportunity to export beef offal to Hong Kong. Then, in 2020, they built a new facility in Canhotinho, Pernambuco. The plant is authorized to process meat for export to more than 120 countries, including Muslim nations, and its production carries a kosher certification for exports to Israel.

“Today, 40% of our production is exported to China. Last year, we processed 600 head of cattle, and we expect a 10% increase in operations this year,” celebrates co-founder Nelson Bezerra.

BAHIA: CARS, THE BRIDGE, AND FUEL

Bahia has stood out as a destination chosen by investors from countries as diverse as the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, and China. Chinese automaker BYD, for example, took advantage of the closure of Ford’s plant in Camaçari to establish itself in Brazil. Once the project is fully completed, the factory will have the capacity to produce 300,000 electric vehicles per year and has already attracted 17 additional companies from its supply chain.

To adapt the former American competitor’s factory, BYD immediately invested R$2.5 billion in a 4.5 million-square-meter area. By the end of 2027, the company expects to create 20,000 direct and indirect jobs, becoming one of the five largest employers in the state.

“The existence of an established industrial complex and the proximity to the Port of Aratu were decisive factors in choosing Bahia,” says the company’s Senior Vice President, Alexandre Baldy. “We intend to lead the Brazilian automotive market by 2030, and the Camaçari factory will serve as a regional export hub, supplying vehicles to Argentina, Mexico, and Colombia.” The company also plans to invest another R$3 billion over the next two years to complete the project’s second phase.

Another major investment in Bahia’s capital is the bridge that will connect Salvador to Itaparica Island. Stretching 12.4 kilometers, the project represents a total investment of R$10 billion. A dream pursued by Bahia’s governments for decades, the project is being carried out by Chinese construction companies CCCC and CRCC in partnership with the state government, which also plans to seek financing from the New Development Bank (NDB), the BRICS bank.

“With the construction of this new mobility system, around 250 municipalities and 10 million residents of Bahia will benefit directly or indirectly,” says Lu Guannan, CEO of the Salvador-Itaparica Bridge Concessionaire.

Meanwhile, Mubadala, from the United Arab Emirates, found in the macaúba palm its reason for making a new investment in Bahia. The sovereign wealth fund had already acquired the Mataripe refinery in 2021, an asset privatized by the federal government from Petrobras. At the end of 2023, seeking to produce renewable diesel — especially for trucks — and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for aircraft, Mubadala decided to create a spin-off company called Acelen Renováveis. The goal is to produce 1 billion liters annually using macaúba oil cultivated across 180,000 hectares of degraded land in Bahia and Minas Gerais.

“Our total investment amounts to around US$3 billion. We will begin construction this May and expect to start operations within two years,” forecasts Luiz Mendonça, CEO of Acelen Renováveis.

“Half of that amount will be invested by 2028 in building the plant, and the remainder over the following five to ten years for forest development and research.”

The business proved so successful that Acelen has already sold 90% of its production for the next five years to global players, according to Mendonça. Luiz Mendonça, CEO of Acelen Renováveis.

EUROPEANS WILL TAKE HOME… GREEN IRON

And from the United Kingdom comes one of the main mining investments on Bahian soil. Businessman Guy Saxton partnered with the traditional Swiss bank Julius Baer to raise capital for the development of the mining and steel company Brazil Iron. The company discovered deposits of a ferrous mineral known as itabirite, with higher concentration and greater flexibility, in the cities of Piatã, Abaíra, and Jussiape, in Bahia’s countryside. The mineral is ideal for producing so-called green iron, known as HBI (Hot Briquetted Iron).

The company plans to invest US$5.7 billion to mine and produce HBI in two factories, whose final locations are still being defined, though they will likely be developed near the Bahian port city of Ilhéus. Projected annual production is 5 million tons of green iron, with 10 years of output already sold to Asian and European markets, generating an estimated US$30 billion in revenue.

“The iron is considered green for several reasons: the production process is net zero, using renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power, along with electric conveyor belts. We also use natural gas, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 70%, while the remaining 30% is offset,” explains Emerson Souza, Vice President of Institutional Relations at Brazil Iron.

HOUSE OF THE WINDS: R$9 BILLION IN 12 MONTHS

Over the next decade, renewable energy giant Casa dos Ventos plans an investment pipeline ranging from R$5 billion to R$10 billion per year in Brazil. Of this total, three-quarters will be concentrated in the Northeast — the very region where the company was born. Specialized in wind energy, but also active in solar power and preparing to enter the green hydrogen market, the company continues to expand aggressively.

“Considering only the Dom Inocêncio projects in Piauí and Ibiapaba in Ceará, we will install 1.5 gigawatts in wind farms, representing investments of approximately R$9 billion over the next 12 months,” says Lucas Araripe, CEO of Casa dos Ventos. “And we intend to approve another 1.5 gigawatts of wind projects in the Northeast by the end of the year, mainly in Bahia, which would add another R$9 billion in investments next year.”

Aware of the massive influx of opportunities in Pecém, its Export Processing Zone which allows differentiated tax planning and the intensive energy demand expected in the region, Araripe also sees Ceará as a priority destination for investments. For example, the company will supply electricity to TikTok’s data center. In Araripe’s words, “Casa dos Ventos will export renewable energy in the form of data processing.”

The company is also studying the feasibility of producing green hydrogen at the Pecém Complex to export ammonia to European refineries. The strategic decision is expected early next year.

“With the projects currently under construction, Casa dos Ventos will soon become the largest wind and solar energy company in Brazil. Beyond the natural resources we need, the Northeast has attracted our attention because of its need for investment and the positive impact these projects bring to the region.”

“WE WILL INVEST BETWEEN R$5 BILLION AND R$10 BILLION OVER THE NEXT TEN YEARS, AND THE NORTHEAST ACCOUNTS FOR THREE-QUARTERS OF THESE INVESTMENTS.”
Lucas Araripe, CEO of Casa dos Ventos

Photo: Disclosure