Interview with Eduardo Parente, President of YDUQS, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Digital technology facilitates customized learning and pathways to better jobs, says Eduardo Parente, President of YDUQS, headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Through a proprietary digital platform, YDUQS has made quality secondary education a reality for students at every socio-economic level. Parente explains how upholding stringent environmental, social, and governance standards has reinforced its commitment to sustainable development and equity, including a recent expansion beyond its Brazilian borders.
How have you used digital solutions to democratize access to higher education? Can you share an example?
Around 2018, when Brazil struggled to recover from the economic crisis, we started adding more digital content across our undergraduate, graduate, and vocational programs. People had less money to pay for secondary education, so, as we say in Portuguese, we had to “shrink the pocket” and make it more affordable. Expanding the breadth and depth of our digital offering has enabled us to charge roughly 40 percent less than we did 10 years ago and reach over 800,000 students.
Most of our students also work while going to school. Downloading classes and controlling when they complete the requirements gives working adults the flexibility to fit in learning alongside their work responsibilities.
I have a great example to share. We had the incredible privilege of hosting Dr. Maya Cummings, a former politician and government affairs expert from the United States. Traditionally, she would have spoken to an auditorium of about 300 students. Instead, the conversation with Dr. Cummings was recorded, uploaded to our mobile app, and made available to our entire student population. I like to say that we are using our digital platform to push elite content out to the masses.
Did your success in implementing digital solutions influence your expansion plans?
Once our digital transformation was well established, it made sense to expand. We considered moving into neighboring countries like Paraguay or Mexico. However, every country has a different regulatory body, and considering the size of Brazil, we had plenty of opportunities to continue expanding here at home. Things changed in 2023 when a new government administration took office, and they expressed interest in bringing higher education opportunities into Portuguese-speaking Africa. Making secondary education programs available to people who wouldn’t otherwise have access has always been a priority. We had the digital learning platform that could make our shared goals a reality, so we got to work.
We engaged IFC to help us look into the six Portuguese-speaking African countries. After evaluating the options, we found great potential in the Republic of Cabo Verde, an archipelago of 10 islands, most of which have no universities. We have the technology, and we all speak the same language. The population is small, but we haven’t pursued this as a huge business opportunity. We love teaching and want to empower less fortunate people to live better lives through education. And we do this for about one dollar per day in Brazil. We take pride in that.
Expanding internationally has inherent challenges. How did you address regulatory, financial, and operational differences?
The regulatory environment in Cape Verde is open to innovation, so that wasn’t an obstacle. But we have other factors to consider. For instance, the telecommunications infrastructure must be able to support students downloading multiple classes at one time on their cell phones or iPads to watch later. We found that while the telecom system in Cape Verde isn’t as strong as it’s in Brazil, it’s good enough to get the job done.
We also needed to find partners to help us establish remote learning centers. Part of our model offers students a place to get away from hectic family lives in small living spaces to engage in their studies. In Brazil, we offer air conditioning, Wi-Fi, and solace. We want to be able to offer Cape Verdeans the same.
Another obstacle has been reconciling the different payment systems, which are about 15 years behind where we are in Brazil. People in Cape Verde still use paper and sometimes even cash.
How did you find operational partners in Africa from Brazil?
One of the regulatory requirements of remote learning in Brazil is that students have a place to take tests away from their homes, so we provided them with a place not only to take tests but to do schoolwork. In 2009, we started promoting distance learning centers as a perk because we realized students valued a quiet place to work. Also, when they uploaded and navigated through the YDUQS app for the first time, someone was on hand to walk them through the process and answer questions. We are not talking about anything elaborate—a small room with a few desks, Wi-Fi, air conditioning, and a friendly face. Operationally, we needed a local equivalent.
The IFC Upstream advisory team hooked us up with a local consultant who introduced us to prospective partners. These are businesses with the capacity to open an additional revenue stream. In this case, the opportunity was partnering with a Brazilian education company—us—and essentially opening a YDUQS franchise. They provide the learning center, and we provide the educational content and one or two YDUQS employees to help them get things up and running. Since we have been going through the local IFC consultant, entrepreneurs trust our legitimacy in a way that would have been difficult to establish on our own.
Can you elaborate on the role ESG played in your expansion plan?
Environment, social, and governance (ESG) are big things for us. Our energy is renewable, and we measure our carbon footprint. We bring in experts and host events on climate change and sustainability. The environment is incorporated into the curriculum across all areas of study. More than a third of our senior management are women and minorities. ESG is ingrained in everything we do.
As I alluded to earlier, I am very passionate about the “S” in ESG. Every year, we invite a handful of bright and motivated African students to attend one of our in-person programs in Brazil. Students with limited financial means are awarded scholarships and pay nothing. Similarly, expanding into Africa enables us to make higher education attainable to almost anyone. Our digital platform offers a customized learning experience so students can create a path toward better employment opportunities and feel a sense of accomplishment.
We were recently recognized for our efforts and received an “AA” ESG rating from MSCI, Morgan Stanley Capital International, a global benchmark for corporate sustainability. I believe we are the only educational institution worldwide to have accomplished this!
What advice would you give to institutional leaders interested in expanding internationally?
We are still fairly new to this, but I do have some advice. When considering international expansion, getting to know the people first and their customs, culture, and work ethic is essential. Local knowledge is key. Finding a partner to help pave the way and bridge gaps is also extremely helpful. As I mentioned, the IFC team brokered local partnerships that solved an operational hurdle of finding entrepreneurs to run remote learning centers. If one is in a highly regulated sector like education, being familiar with the rules of engagement before getting started makes things much easier.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Published in January 2025
Eduardo Parente is the President of YDUQS based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Chairman of Equatorial Energia. He holds a degree in production engineering from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, and a master’s degree in business administration from New York University. Previously, Parente was the CEO of Companhia Siderúrgica do Pecém (CSP), Prumo Logística S.A. (controller of the Port of Açu) and MRS Logística S.A. He was also the Director for Special Projects for Vale S.A. and partner of McKinsey & Company. He was a member of the Board of Directors of Bradespar, CSP, VLI, among others, and a member of Alcoa Latam's Advisory Board.