Rio 2016 has announced plans to help small businesses in Brazil benefit from next year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games, setting a goal of signing about 10 per cent of the contracts in the organising committee’s supply chain with small companies and micro-enterprises. With about R$3 billion (US$769 million) of Rio 2016’s overall R$7 billion budget set to be spent on goods and services, that equates to approximately R$300 million (US$77 million) worth of business.

The target was announced by Rio 2016 CEO Sidney Levy at an event in held partnership with Sebrae, the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service, at the Rio 2016 headquarters on Monday (5 October). It is good news for the Brazilian economy, the seventh-largest in the world, which has seen growth fall in recent times.

“Organising the Olympic and Paralympic Games is a very complex venture and our main objective, since the start, has been to leave a legacy for Brazil,” said Levy. “The goal of helping to enable small companies is very much in line with this. We already have R$150 million worth of signed contracts, but we want to double this by next year.”

Rio 2016 estimates that it will supply about 30 million items for the Games, at a cost of approximately R$3 billion, requiring such a diverse range of goods and services that small companies in almost all areas should be able to compete for contracts. Among those already signed are agreements for the production of handcrafted cushions for the athletes’ village, catering and printing services, office equipment and boat maintenance.

The organising committee signed a technical cooperation agreement with Sebrae two years ago that aims to help small businesses meet the demands of supplying major sports events, while creating sustainable supply chains in Brazil. Up to now, about 7,000 small companies across the country have been mapped by Sebrae as potential suppliers.