Business Fortune
In today’s intensely competitive global economy, companies seeking international growth often face a major obstacle: the daunting complexity of Brazil's employment laws. The country can feel like a labyrinth for foreign businesses, with its intricate CLT labor regulations, mandatory FGTS deposits, required 13th salary, and ever-evolving compliance standards. This challenge is especially significant for industries with unique dynamics and regulatory risks, ranging from digital startups pursuing rapid expansion to industrial giants navigating union-dominated environments.
Wide Brazil, founded by José Roberto Araujo Filho and Geovana Rocha, is an end-to-end workforce solutions partner with a decade of experience and a Brazilian birth, turns that maze into a straightforward, manageable route. Wide Brazil has been assisting international businesses—from agile startups to large multinational corporations—in hiring, managing, and retaining Brazilian teams without being mired in red tape for more than a decade. The company, which specializes in Employer of Record (EOR), PEO, recruiting, and outsourcing, goes above and beyond compliance by serving as an extension of its customers' local headquarters and balancing accuracy and speed to guarantee seamless, long-term growth.
In an exclusive interview with Business Fortune, founder José Roberto Araujo Filho shared how Wide Brazil, co-founded with Geovana Rocha, grew from tackling Brazil’s bureaucratic maze into a trusted growth partner, streamlining compliance, recruitment, and expansion for global companies. Below is an excerpt from the interview.
Interview Highlights
Mr. Araujo Filho, could you share the inspiration behind founding Wide Brazil? How did the challenges you faced in the early stages shape the company’s identity today, and what unmet needs in international expansion were you seeking to address at that time?
Wide Brazil began with a clear purpose: enabling international companies to enter Brazil and navigate the bureaucracy that often deters them. Initially, we focused solely on facilitating this process and reducing its complexity.
Over time, we identified a trend. Many clients established entities in Brazil primarily to hire talent, not to confront the intricacies of company formation. Once engaged, they recognized something significant: Brazilian professionals were more than a local resource; they drove global growth.
This insight shifted our perspective. We expanded with purpose: streamlining operations in Brazil, bridging global strategy with local execution, and ensuring every client’s team is not just compliant, but exceptional.
Brazil is known for having complex employment laws, including the 13th wage, FGTS, and CLT. What were some of the most challenging regulatory obstacles you faced in the beginning, and how did you develop your expertise?
The real challenge wasn’t just learning the law – it was learning how to apply it to completely different industries. Serving a mining company in the north of Brazil is not the same as supporting a tech startup from Europe hiring engineers in São Paulo. Each industry has its own rhythm, requirements, and risks.
In the early days, bridging those realities while staying compliant with Brazilian labor law was our biggest test. Over time, with experience, we built the ability to adapt quickly: we don’t just “apply” the CLT (labor law); we translate it into something that makes sense for the client’s strategy. Today, whether it’s mining, energy, agribusiness, or tech, we know how to recruit the right people and keep everything 100% compliant through our EOR model, no matter the complexity of the scenario.
You provide a wide range of services, including full-scale outsourcing, recruiting, EOR, and PEO. In what ways do these solutions represent your clients' increasing need for a global HR partner, and how have they changed over time?
What we’ve learned is that our clients don’t want the “faceless” service that big providers often deliver. They want someone who understands their pains, helps them think through their expansion strategy, and takes care of every detail as if we were part of their own team.
That’s why our solutions go beyond compliance. Recruitment, EOR, and PEO are not just products — they create a partnership model where we support clients in attracting talent, handling payroll and compliance, and ensuring their teams in Brazil run smoothly.
In other words, we don’t see ourselves as just a vendor. We act as a growth partner. For companies entering Brazil, having a local HR partner who is involved in strategy and execution is often the difference between a fragile attempt and a successful expansion.
What does Wide Brazil's ideal client profile look like? Are there any sectors or phases of companies—startups vs. multinationals—that particularly fit your model?
For us, the ideal client isn’t defined by size but by vision. We can work with a global multinational or a fast-growing startup — what matters is that they see Brazil as a strategic market and want a partner close enough to understand how they think and operate.
Our model is highly flexible, which allows us to adapt to very different realities. We’ve supported an agri-tech company expanding into the Brazilian countryside, and we’ve also helped a global video game company build a local team. The industries couldn’t be more different, but the common point is always the same: they needed a partner who could simplify the complexity of Brazil, so their team here could focus on performance and growth.
How do you ensure that speed never sacrifices accuracy or compliance when you manage sensitive processes like payroll and taxes, and onboard clients quickly?
It comes down to three things: an exceptional team, extreme attention to detail, and deep technical expertise. In Brazil, there’s no room for shortcuts when it comes to payroll, compliance, and taxes — so we move fast, but we never compromise.
We’d rather tell a client that something is not possible than deliver something that has no real value. That honesty, combined with our local expertise, is what keeps our operations safe and our clients confident. At the end of the day, speed is important, but it’s the accuracy of execution that protects the business. And that’s where our local know-how makes all the difference.
The EOR and PEO space is increasingly competitive. What sets Wide Brazil apart—beyond promises of speed and compliance—from both local and international rivals?
Navigating Brazil’s complexity is not just about knowing the law — it’s about knowing the paths. For global companies, that knowledge is fundamental to ensure efficiency. Sometimes what looks like a cost-saving shortcut can actually become very expensive if you get it wrong.
And when it comes to talent, having the right people on the ground makes all the difference. Teams with the right skills and motivation drive results faster than any process or tool. That’s why having a partner who not only handles compliance but also takes care of your people is so valuable. Wide Brazil exists to be that partner — making sure your team in Brazil is efficient, motivated, and fully aligned with your global goals.
Are there plans to extend your model beyond Brazil or to introduce new services—such as visa sponsorship or full localized entity setup—to complement your existing portfolio?
Absolutely. In addition to our core services in EOR, PEO, and recruitment, we also deliver visa support, and through our consulting arm, we guide clients in entity creation and accounting when needed.
Looking ahead, one of our priorities is to expand our model across Latin America. This isn’t just our idea — it’s a request we hear often from clients and partners who want the same level of service they’ve come to trust in Brazil, but available in other countries in the region. Our goal is to give them a single, reliable partner for building and managing their teams, not only in Brazil but across Latin America.
Could you describe any upcoming innovations or services—maybe tech platforms or new vertical offerings—that you're particularly excited about?
We’re investing in technology to give clients greater visibility and control — with tools that simplify communication, payroll, and compliance tracking. At the same time, we’re careful to preserve the personalized touch that sets us apart. For us, technology enhances relationships; it doesn’t replace them.
At the same time, we’re developing sector-specific enhancements to our solutions. The needs of a mining company are very different from those of a SaaS startup, and we want our services to reflect that reality even more. So the future of Wide Brazil is a combination of smarter tools and sharper vertical expertise — always designed to make our clients’ expansion easier.
Would you like us to highlight something important happening in your company that we may have missed asking about?
We take pride in being more than just a service provider. We serve as the Brazilian headquarters for our clients—fully immersed in their culture, aligned with their strategy, and moving at their pace. This is what sets us apart.
José Roberto Araujo Filho, Founder | In his Own words
José Roberto Araujo Filho, founder of widebrazil.com, specializes in Employer of Record, PEO, and recruitment services across Brazil and Latin America. With 20 years of experience in the Brazilian market, I help global companies set up, hire, and thrive locally — fully compliant and fully supported. I combine sales, marketing, and technology expertise with a proven track record in business development, strategy, and customer relationship management. Over the years, I have driven growth, opened new markets, and built strong relationships with senior stakeholders, always delivering measurable value to clients, expanding into Brazil.
