MEMP Minister Paulo Henrique Pereira points out that, despite the weight of small businesses in Brazil’s GDP, bureaucracy and access to credit still hinder international growth.
The entrepreneurship landscape in Brazil has reached historic milestones in recent decades, especially with the consolidation of the MEI (Individual Microentrepreneur) and the Simples tax system. However, Entrepreneur’s Day, celebrated on August 5, brought to light a critical reflection on the obstacles that still prevent the full development of small and medium-sized business owners.
According to the Minister of the Ministry of Entrepreneurship, Microenterprise and Small Business (MEMP), Paulo Henrique Pereira, the productivity of this vital sector for the national economy faces structural barriers. Among the most urgent challenges are the high cost of credit and the difficulties imposed by a business environment that still lacks greater dynamism and innovation.
The weight of small businesses in the economy
The numbers justify the government’s attention to the issue. Currently, small and medium-sized enterprises are responsible for generating 70% of jobs in the country. Of the 100 million employed Brazilians, 30 million operate as entrepreneurs, and the segment already accounts for 30% of the national GDP.
Despite this expressive strength in the domestic market, internationalization remains a bottleneck. Even with the opening of hundreds of markets and major diplomatic agreements, Brazilian micro and small businesses still hold a modest share of exports.
“Over the last 20 years, we have built several important legal frameworks for entrepreneurship in Brazil. The creation of MEI, the creation of Simples, and these frameworks caused entrepreneurship to explode. Today, 70% of jobs are in small and medium-sized enterprises; out of 100 million employed Brazilians, 30 million are entrepreneurs.”
Paths to internationalization
The federal government admits that the current model needs to be adjusted to encourage small businesses to cross borders. Compared to economies like the European Union or China, where the role of microenterprises in export agendas is significant, Brasil is still striving to increase its density in this productive chain.
The proposal for the next cycle is to implement new models that facilitate global integration, focusing on specific sectors with greater competitive potential. The goal is to transform the current bureaucratic structure, which often discourages small-scale exporters, into a more agile and less costly environment.
The expectation for the coming months is that MEMP will advance public policies focused on reducing bureaucracy. The expected impact is that, by unlocking the export potential of small entrepreneurs, Brazil will be able to better balance its trade balance and diversify the origin of its foreign revenue, strengthening the national economy sustainably.
