tHE CItY's potEntIal
Recife has only the 10th highest
GDP among the cities analyzed, but
it is the fastest growing capital: be-
tween 2008 and 2011, the average
real growth was 6.04% — in 2010 the
city grew nearly 13% — compared to
the average of 2.99% of the 14 cit-
ies. The city can also be considered
one of the connecting "hubs" in the
Northeast: in addition to a port and
a good road system within the state
of Pernambuco, the city has one of
the largest and best airports in the
country — the current traffic is an
estimated 7 million passengers per
year, but the capacity is 16 million.
For entrepreneurs who are facing
challenges in other areas (such
as innovation or finding qualified
professional, for example), Recife
has a culture favorable to entre
-
preneurship and has various or-
ganizations such as Porto Digital
and Sebrae Pernambuco, which
help support business growth. This
idea is reinforced by the fact that
the field research of this study
has shown that 35% of Recife's
population claims to have tak-
en a course in entrepreneurship
and another 73% say they would
know who to ask for help if they
had difficulties in their business,
both among the highest rates in
the country.
RECIFE
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