Greater Peoria EDC was pleased to host Brazilian Techs Connection (BTEC) in late July. BTEC, a group of 33 Brazilians representing startups, corporations, and academic institutions, was a ten-day visit to Illinois. The first six days were spent soaking in the economic and cultural assets of Chicago, but when the group organizers wanted an experience in the “the rest of Illinois,” they turned to us here in Greater Peoria. Over the past few years, we have focussed on international relationships, particularly with Brazil. Those efforts had already paid off – in late 2023, a smaller, more informal delegation visited Peoria during a trip to Chicago. As a result, Alexandre Chequim and DigiFarmz opened their first US office in Peoria.
So how do you entertain and educate a pretty diverse group of foreign nationals for 60 hours or so? We kept them moving! A very brief summary of the schedule:
- Opening dinner at the Four Points Hotel on Sunday
- A discussion on agriculture in Central Illinois at Stewart Family Farms/Bottom Line Solutions in Morton
- A visit to Morton Industries
- A tour of the National Center for Agricultural Utilization and Research (the “AgLab”)
- A tour of Distillery Labs and discussions about Peoria’s startup ecosystem
- A public reception at the Peoria Riverfront Museum
- A “speed dating event” at Distillery Labs that mixed Peoria and Brazilian startups
- A tour of Precision Planting’s “Precision Technology Institute” in Pontiac
- A closing private party at Wildlife Prairie Park
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But to pull this off, you first must realize you can’t do it alone. The GPEDC team was amazing, and every staff member played a role. Kathie helped organize the agricultural discussion. Sally helped coordinate the Morton Industries visit. Jeffrey and David helped organize the speed dating. Melissa handled the logistics and marshaled everyone else to help in various ways. We pulled in resources and help from the wider team, too. We partnered with Distillery Labs, gener8tor, and Bradley University. We had over thirty people show up for the speed dating event, including ten of our startups. We had speakers from six different organizations join us for the agriculture conversation. The Stewart family allowed us to disrupt their daily farming operations. Staff at Morton Industries, the AgLab, and PTI were all gracious with their time. It was truly a team effort.
I’ve done a lot of cool stuff, and had lots of challenging projects, in my twenty years in economic development, but this has to be in the top three of both categories. It is so interesting to watch a group of people with nearly ZERO knowledge of Peoria get to see our home for the first time. It gives me such a different perspective, and even though my job is to love and promote Greater Peoria, I found myself getting excited about their questions.
It’s tough to measure the value of these trips. Claudio, the BTEC chief organizer, said the goal was simply to make connections between different groups of people. If that was the purpose, mission accomplished. I saw at least two Peoria-based companies having real and serious conversations about partnering with Brazilian companies. Two Brazilian startups have already reached out about establishing an office in Peoria at Distillery Labs. I’m fielding requests to visit Brazil and trying to figure out what the budget for something like that would be. I feel like I have 33 new friends. There were tons of great moments, and the group was overwhelmed with our hospitality, warmness and openness. One said to David, “In Chicago I can make money; in Peoria I can make money and friends.” That’s a pretty powerful statement.
I will leave you with a bit of serendipity. Did you know that the City of Peoria logo has the same color scheme—blue, green, and yellow—as the Brazilian flag? As the Murray Baker bridge lit up on Monday night in those colors, it was almost as if we were all sending the same message of welcome.
My thanks to Claudio, BTEC, and the Brazilian consulate in Chicago for including Greater Peoria in their plans. Thank you to Distillery Labs and gener8tor for helping sponsor the group’s evening events. And thank you to all of you who invest in Greater Peoria EDC and allow us to represent this great region to the rest of the planet.