Businesses in Brazil will have improved access to data hosting services given an investment by IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, that aims to help revitalize and boost the country’s digital infrastructure. The $30 million (approximately BRL 155 million) loan will allow ODATA Brasil S.A.,a provider of data center infrastructure to a wide range of industries, as cloud and telecommunications, expand its operations throughout Latin America and its three existing data centers in Brazil. It’s IFC first data center financing project.
Given the global pandemic, IFC’s investment will help the country increase productivity, thus enhancing the nation’s digital resilience and contributing to a sustainable economic recovery. As the largest economy and most populated country in Latin America, Brazil generates the highest demand for connectivity across the region.
“Against this backdrop, we see a large demand for data center capacity in Latin America, and ODATA is well positioned to take advantage of this trend. With IFC’s funding and support, we are expanding our operation to support enterprises with the capacity for highest quality and scalable infrastructure in the region,” said Rafael Bomeny, ODATA Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
Post-COVID, increased investment to prepare Brazil’s digital infrastructure for a rise in information and communication technology-enabled services will be critical for the country’s economic recovery strategy. Brazil has all the advantages to continue as Latin America’s leading data center hub: a large tech-savvy population, increasing internet penetration, and a growing demand for cloud services. However, the nation doesn’t have yet a well-established class of data center infrastructure providers focused on wholesale data center services, leaving customers with limited choices.
In response, with a focus on serving its global customers through a single platform, ODATA is boosting its business in the region. In addition to expanding its three data centers in Brazil and one in Colombia, the company has started construction in Mexico and Chile and is developing a new building in Rio de Janeiro.
“In addition to providing high quality financing that enhances our competitiveness in the market, IFC helps us to improve our environmental and social standards and we look forward to expanding our relationship to the other countries in the region, where we are deploying new capacity”, adds Bomeny.
“In Brazil, one of IFC’s strategic priorities is to improve access to quality data center services by promoting connectivity and supporting carrier-neutral infrastructure providers. Amid the ongoing pandemic, IFC’s investment will help increase market competitiveness for data hosting services in Latin America, enabling productivity and wider usage of digital services. This will help Brazil achieve a sustainable digital economy,” said Carlos Leiria Pinto, IFC’s Brazil Country Manager.
IFC is an important player financing in the Telecoms, Media, and Technology (TMT) sector in emerging markets across the globe. Since 2010, IFC has committed and mobilized over $6 billion for TMT projects.
IFC has been investing in Brazil’s private sector since 1957, addressing the country’s most critical development challenges, including those of urbanization, social inclusion, competitiveness and productivity, and management of natural resources. In the fiscal year 2020, IFC’s new long-term investments in Brazil, across all sectors, totaled $2.2 billion, including $615 million in third-party resources.
