Created in October 2006, the Mais Unidos Group is a partnership between the U.S Diplomatic Mission in Brazil through its U.S Agency for international Development (USAID) and American companies established in Brazilian territory.

The Mission of the Group is to strengthen public and private alliances to optimize and enhance U.S CSR investments in Brazil towards sustainably achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

Mais Unidos seeks to promote visibility for its members’ investments in environment, socio and economic-related projects, as well as to promote the theme of corporate social responsibility among different segments of Brazilian society. This is done through the dissemination of best practices, success stories, and the establishment of public-private partnerships.

Many of the +Unidos Group projects are bi-lateral, or involve a single or small group of companies, such as USAID’s-Qualcomm’s “Fishing with 3G Nets”. The project gives Fishermen in Santa Cruz Cabralia, Bahia broadband access, 3G mobile Internet, custom applications for managing fishing businesses, equipment, and training.

Another good example is USAID-ExxonMobil partnership to promote the preservation of biodiversity in the Amazon region through environmental awareness and educational activities among urban and rural populations.

The “Fishing with 3G Nets” project, photo by Alex Araujo/USAID.
However, +Unidos most recent educational program, called +Oportunidades (More Opportunities), is taking advantage of the power of the group. It is the first joint project of the organization, and will provide English language training and employability skills to 1,000 disadvantaged young people in Rio de Janeiro per year.