Antonio Gil, president of Brazil's ICT Associtation, said that mimicking India and China's model does not make sense for Brazil's economy.
"In the beginning we tried to copy India, but we can't do this today. We will not compete with them on cheap labour. Brazil is more expensive," said Gil.
"So, what should we do? We need to look into niche markets at the highest level. For instance, banking and financial applications."
He added: "Brazilian banks are years ahead of most financial institutions in the world in their use of IT. This is an area where Brazil could play a role in the export markets."
Gil said that this was also true of Brazil's energy and agriculture sector. He said: "Brazil is in the top two or three markets in the world, including US and Europe, for IT in these sectors."