Brazilian handicraft won a highlighted spot in the country of the World Cup between the 17th and 21st of May. The project was sponsored by the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex).
There was also help from the Centro Cape Institute, an entrepreneurship organisation, and Central Mãos de Minas, handicrafts non-profit organisation of the southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. The three entities took the Project Vendedor Artesanato to the MAK Frankfurt Museum, in Germany.
The work of 25 artisans from the whole country will be exhibited in a place of highlight in the museum and a business roundtable will gather the Brazilians and more than 60 buyers from many countries in the continent such as Germany, France, Ukraine and Spain.
The president of the Centro Cape, Tânia Machado, says that the selection process for the works exhibited was strict. "They aren’t inexpensive pieces, we looked for products with higher added value," she said.
The initial expectation is that the roundtables generate a turnover of more than 15,000 euros, in average, per company in immediate sales and another 40,000 euros in future sales.
In total, the business generated should add up to 1 million euros during one year, increasing tot total in national exports related to the handicrafts market.
In Brazil there are approximately 8.5 million artisans, according to information from the Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics (IBGE) in 1998. The volume of exports increases every year.
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