Our Entrepreneurs

Company Snapshot

Carla and her husband Osvaldo dream of bridging the digital divide in Brazil. Since the couple founded Gigalink in 2004, they have brought affordable broadband internet to more than 8,500 households and small businesses in Nova Friburgo, one of the poorest municipalities of Rio de Janeiro state. The key is a low-cost copper cable developed and patented by Osvaldo, which allows the company to install broadband infrastructure at a cost that is ten times less than that of traditional fiber optics. This allows Gigalink to profitably target small to medium cities of 5,000 to 300,000 inhabitants where major Internet Service Providers often choose not to go—thereby helping the country move one step closer to the democratization of broadband internet.