Brazilian entrepreneurs pivot from logistics to finance and commodities

Brazilian entrepreneurs are diversifying their business models to move beyond traditional logistics and commodity trading.

Tayguara Helou, director at Braspress, is steering the long-standing transport company toward new growth avenues. While Braspress maintains a massive national footprint with 112 distribution centers and a fleet of nearly 3,100 vehicles, Helou is expanding into financial services through Urbano Bank. The goal is to provide integrated logistics and financial solutions to help clients manage their businesses.

In a different sector, Renan Lippaus transitioned from owning a transport company to leading Contegran, a commodity trading firm. After finding narrow margins in road transport, Lippaus pivoted to buying and reselling coffee and sugar. Contegran saw a 158% increase in net operating revenue in 2025, reaching R$ 249.2 million. The company now exports commodities to Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, intentionally avoiding the highly competitive United States market.