São José do Rio Preto - Brazil
About São José do Rio Preto
São José do Rio Preto — known locally as Rio Preto — is a city of approximately 460,000 residents in the northwest of São Paulo state, Brazil. Founded in 1852, Rio Preto has grown into a major regional hub for commerce, healthcare, technology, and education. The city is home to a thriving cluster of technology startups and is nationally recognized for its healthcare sector, including Braile Biomédica, a world-class medical device company that manufactures heart valves. Rio Preto's economy is dynamic and diversified, combining strong agricultural roots with modern industrial and service sectors. Its universities and research institutions make it a peer, in many respects, to Gainesville — a similarly mid-sized, university-anchored, innovation-oriented city.
History
The Gainesville-Rio Preto partnership grew out of a connection initiated by Welson Tremura, a UF professor and former director of the UF Center for Arts, Migration and Entrepreneurship (CAME), who was born in Rio Preto. Tremura recognized the parallels between the two cities — comparable investments in education, technology, and health — and brought the idea to GGIC. Executive Director Lauren Poe and Tremura spent approximately a year exploring the partnership before leading a Gainesville delegation to Rio Preto in spring 2024.
On October 1, 2025, Gainesville Mayor Harvey Ward and Rio Preto Mayor Fábio Cândido formally signed a sister cities agreement during a weeklong exchange in Gainesville that brought Brazilian government officials and business leaders to North Florida. Representing sectors including economic development, construction, healthcare, technology, and beverage distribution, the delegation marked the formal beginning of a relationship built around economic and cultural exchange. Mayor Cândido described the moment as historic and expressed Rio Preto's particular interest in medical entrepreneurship and in learning from Gainesville's model of university-business collaboration.
Since 2025
See the memorandum of understanding establishing the sister city relationship between Gainesville and São José do Rio Preto in 2025 below.
Exchanges and Delegations
The first visit to Sao Jose do Rio Preto was by former Gainesville Mayor Lauren Poe and Gainesville City Commissioner Bryan Eastman. The visit was coordinated with the assistance of Dr. Welson Tremura, a native of the area. This exploratory visit laid the groundwork for a formal sister city partnership and included cultural exchanges, tours of university and college campuses, the local technology incubator, and public facilities.
Beginning in early 2026, Rio Preto's city government has been working to send students to study abroad at the University of Florida. Rio Preto has also indicated that Gainesville students interested in studying in Brazil would be welcomed.
In spring 2024, a delegation led by Lauren Poe traveled from Gainesville to Rio Preto to explore the potential for partnership. A return delegation from Rio Preto, led by Mayor Cândido and including officials and business leaders from across multiple sectors, visited Gainesville September 30 through October 4, 2025. The delegation participated in meetings with city leaders, visited institutions and businesses, and was welcomed at a public reception featuring live music at Samba in Haile Village.
Projects
Early priorities include facilitating technology and information exchange between Gainesville and Rio Preto startups, particularly in the biomedical and health technology sectors. Delegates have expressed interest in adapting Gainesville's model of UF biotechnology incubators for use in Rio Preto's growing startup ecosystem.
GGIC is working with the UF College of Nursing to establish a nursing exchange, as well as the deployment of a new ai software system developed at the University of Florida. This exchange has expanded to include the Center for Excellence in Artificial Intelligence.