Founded in 2016 in the city of Curitiba, State of Paraná, Southern Brazil, Pontomais was created to solve the challenges of Human Resource units by means of digitalization and automation of processes.
Until then, many of the routines were performed manually, and, with the arrival of Pontomais, HR professionals were able to rely on tools to rid them from bureaucracy and thus focus on talent development. Much of the growth of Pontomais was driven by the Tecnoparque of Curitiba, an initiative that fosters a business network and boosts the development of tech companies. The businesses of HRtech were also boosted after its acquisition by VR, and currently acts as an ecosystem with a portfolio of solutions in mobility, human capital management, marketplaces and offers, financial services and meals benefits.
VR was established nearly 40-years before, right after the launch of PAT (Worker´s Meal Brazilian Program), one the most successful social programs ever created by the local government. Named after its sole product, Vale Refeição (Meal Voucher), in the past ten years VR has intended to expand its arena of services. With the acquisition of start-ups, its new range of products serves employers and commercial establishments, nonetheless the company’s main focus is the Brazilian C class worker (roughly 70% of VR’s customers), from the time they wake up until the time that they go to sleep, a mantra is practically repeated daily by more than its 1,300 employees. Today the ecosystem serves 4.7 million workers, over 85 thousand companies and has recorded revenues of BRL 11 billion (around US$ 2.2 billion) in 2022.
VR has been an ally of innovation for a long time. In the early 2000s, it introduced chip cards in Brazil and designed its own POS machine. Not surprisingly, faithful to its innovation DNA, currently some 12% of the company’s revenue returns as investments in technology, much of it in order to understand in depth the daily lives of employers, C class workers and their families with a massive usage of data. This view of the digital environment not only follows market trends, but also offers accessibility, convenience, data analysis, cost reduction and innovation.
VR is committed to improving the quality of life and facilitation of the worker’s journey, and so has directed its efforts not to serve only large companies, but also small and medium-sized ones, and so democratizing access to technology. In addition to financial results, VR intends to be an agent of social change and thus has recently joined the UN Global Compact. The company identified the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to its business, prioritizing SDG 1 (eradication of poverty), SDG 8 (promotion of decent work and growth of micro, small and medium-sized companies) and SDG 10 (reduction of inequalities and offers of accessible financial services). This initiative reflects VR’s commitment to promoting a positive social impact.
