Mercado Libre to invest US$750 million in São Paulo, generating 5,000 jobs

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – São Paulo Governor João Doria on Monday, May 17, announced a partnership between the state government and Mercado Libre (MELI34) for professionalization and job creation.

The company will invest R$4 billion (US$750 million) and will generate 5,000 jobs in the state of São Paulo by the end of 2021. The announcement was made during an event in Cajamar, in one of Mercado Libre’s points of operation.

The retailer had announced a R$10 billion investment in Brazil earlier this year, and now disclosed that part of this amount will be directed to São Paulo. Of the 5,000 jobs available in São Paulo, 4,100 will be in logistics. 450 positions will be created for professionals in the company’s technology teams, and 450 positions in other areas of the company.

The initiative will focus on training professionals and entrepreneurs who are young students aged between 17 and 24 in the regions of Cajamar, Osasco, Sorocaba, and Louveira – locations where Mercado Libre has operations and also regions where Centro Paula Souza (CPS) is present.

The CPS, which is also part of this initiative, is a São Paulo government agency linked to the Secretariat of Economic Development, and runs 223 state Technological Schools (Etecs) and 73 Colleges of Technology (Fatecs), with more than 322,000 students in medium-level technical and higher technological courses. The goal is to qualify Etecs and Fatecs students to take part in the selection process at Mercado Libre.

Fernando Yunes, senior vice president of Mercado Libre in Brazil said that the hiring and training program in partnership with the state government is an advantage for the company. According to Yunes, these R$4 billion investment in São Paulo this year represents the same amount that the company invested across Brazil in 2020.

“Some 85% of our vendors are located in São Paulo. Therefore, investing in logistics here makes sense. Of the 7,200 jobs we will create this year in Brazil, 5,000 will be in São Paulo. Next year, investments should be even higher. We see a huge potential for growth in e-commerce,” said Yunes.

Yunes had anticipated last month that logistics and technology would be the company’s investment focus in Brazil this year.

Patricia Ellen, state secretary of Economic Development, explained that along with Mercado Libre, which provided the investment and will open jobs, and CPS, the initiative also includes SEBRAE-SP and Banco do Povo.

SEBRAE-SP will offer the free online entrepreneurship course “How to sell fast on the internet” to 100,000 entrepreneurs. Through Banco do Povo, the state government will provide micro-credit to some 350,000 entrepreneurs. There are no details yet on how the course will be offered to entrepreneurs, but CPS students will be able to attend and start a business.

“The more qualified entrepreneurs we have, the better for Mercado Libre. We will have more products for customers and offer more work to these entrepreneurs, who will be able to sell their products online on our platform,” said Yunes.

“Entrepreneurs in the state will have access to SEBRAE-SP courses and access to micro-credit from Banco do Povo to boost and qualify their businesses. Furthermore, Mercado Libre will offer some benefits on its platform, such as bonuses in Mercado Ads, so these entrepreneurs may sell their products more assertively. The plan is to provide a direct investment for economic recovery through a joint effort from several teams,” explained Patrícia.

According to Patrícia, e-commerce in São Paulo is expected to grow between 30% and 35% this year. “E-commerce invoiced R$224 billion in Brazil, and São Paulo accounted for R$100 billion of this total,” the secretary added.

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