By NAN Business Editor
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Jul 1, 2016: Three of the most innovative companies in the world are located in the continent of South America. That’s according to Forbes Magazine’s list for ‘The World’s Most Innovative Companies’ in the world. They are:
1: Cielo
Cielo is the largest Brazilian credit and debit card operator and the biggest payment system company in Latin America by revenue and market value. Worldwide, according to Forbes, the company is ranked 46 on the world’s most innovative company list. It was founded in 1995 as a joint-venture between Visa International and the banks Bradesco, Santander, Real (currently Banco Santander Brasil), Banco do Brasil and the now defunct Banco Nacional. Its purpose was to create a common infrastructure to be used by all banks issuing Visa cards, instead of each bank having a separate technological solution to process credit card transactions. The Company used the Visanet trade name until it was changed to Cielo on July 1, 2010. Cieola earned over 11 million in 2015 from over 320,000 transactions.
2: AmBev
Ambev, formally Companhia de Bebidas das Américas (official English translation – “Americas’ Beverage Company” hence the name “Ambev” – is a Brazilian brewing company. It is the biggest brewery in Latin America and the fifth in the world. It was created on July 1, 1999, with the merger of two breweries, Brahma and Antarctica. Ambev operates in 14 countries in the Americas and its portfolio includes beers like Antarctica, Bogotá Beer Company, Brahma, Bohemia, Skol, Stella Artois and soft drinks like Guaraná Antarctica, Soda Antarctica, Sukita and the innovations H2OH! and Guarah. As the largest PepsiCo bottler outside United States, it sells and distributes PepsiCo products in Brazil and other Latin American countries, includes Pepsi, Lipton Ice Tea and Gatorade by agreement of franchising. It is controlled by Anheuser-Busch InBev. It’s ranked at 58th on the world’s most innovative list of companies and its net profit was put at USD3.7 billion in 2015.
3: Falabella
Falabella, a multinational chain of department stores owned by Chilean multinational company S.A.C.I. Falabella, is the largest South American department store. The company was founded by Salvatore Falabella, an Italian Chilean immigrant, in 1889 in Santiago. In its original form, it was a tailor shop but the expansion of the company began in the 1960s, inaugurating the first store outside of Santiago, at Concepción. In 1980, Falabella created CMR, a credit card with 5.5 million customers. In the 1990s it began the process of internationalization, expanding its operations in Argentina, Peru and Colombia and in the 2000s expanded its marketing to include celebrities including like Kate Moss, Gisele Bündchen and Ricky Martin. Currently Falabella has 100 locations with 65,000 employees. It is ranked 61st on the world’s most innovative list of companies with a net income of over USD 519 million in 2015.
