ECLAC points out that one of the main bottlenecks that companies face in Mexico, Latin America and globally, is access to adequate and timely financing. The supply of credit characterized by high interest rates, stricter credit conditions and increasing regulatory demands.
Mexico City, November 27 (However).- The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) play a central role in the economic structure of Mexico. They constitute a primary source of employment and productionboost regional and local economies, and have contributed to the productive transformation of the territories. Together, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises represent 99 percent of the productive units in our country, concludes the study “Towards renewed financing for SMEs in Mexico”, published by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) of the United Nations Organization, prepared by researchers Nahuel Oddone and Iván Estola, released this Thursday, November 27, 2025.
However, despite its strategic relevance, the ecosystem in which they operate faces important structural challenges that limit their emergence, growth capacity, innovation processes and effective insertion into value chains. But, in addition, among the ten factors that most affected the growth of companies in 2023 in Mexico, the cost of financing (in 25.8 percent of cases) and the lack of financing (in 20.7 percent) stood out according to the National Business Financing Survey (ENAFIN) 2024, carried out by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi. Therefore, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) warns that it is required that in Mexico mandatory financial literacy of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) is carried out.
Small and medium-sized businesses contribute 52 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employ 27 million people, representing 68.4 percent of the total number of those working in the business sector. Medium-sized companies have a greater participation in industrial activities, while small companies predominate in retail trade and services.
Microenterprises represent 95.4 percent of the country’s economic units and employ 41.4 percent of Mexicans who have permanent jobs. However, during 2023 only 10.1 percent of Mexican microbusinesses received loans to support and promote their consolidation and growth. Microenterprises are family economic units with a maximum of 10 workers, the main pillar of support for the national economy, according to data from the 2024 Economic Censuses carried out by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) and published on Thursday, July 24, 2025.
On the other hand, together, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) represent 99 percent of the total productive units in Mexico. It is estimated that there are 4.5 million microbusinesses in our country, which represent 95 percent of the total number of companies in the country. Small businesses total approximately 190 thousand establishments, 4 percent of the total, while medium-sized companies reach 38 thousand productive units, 0.08 percent of the total, according to estimates by the Ministry of Economy in 2024.
One of the main bottlenecks that these companies face – in Mexico, Latin America and globally – is access to adequate and timely financing. The supply of credit characterized by high interest rates, stricter credit conditions and increasing regulatory demands. According to the National Company Financing Survey (ENAFIN) 2024, carried out by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), among the ten factors that most affected the growth of companies in 2023 in Mexico, the cost of financing (in 25.8 percent of the cases) and the lack of financing (in 20.7 percent of the units surveyed) stand out.
To correct the structural weaknesses faced by Mexican SMEs—limited financing, low integration in value chains, poor digitalization and institutional fragmentation—the current government’s policies are oriented towards the following purposes:
The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) points out that in Mexico a series of federal and subnational initiatives have been deployed to promote the productive chain of SMEs in strategic sectors such as automotive, electronics and agribusiness. The Mexico Plan 2025-2030 establishes ambitious goals, among them, raising national content to 65 percent in public purchases, expanding tax incentives for machinery and channeling 150 billion pesos in credits to modernize production processes.
Likewise, ECLAC points out) the Supplier Development Program, promoted by the National Auto Parts Industry (INA) in alliance with the International Financial Corporation (IFC), offers business diagnoses, technical training in electromobility and advanced manufacturing, and access to financing through alliances with development banks (INA and IFC, 2025).
ECLAC reports that Mexico currently has a Policy to Promote MSMEs, coordinated by the Ministry of Economy. This policy adopts a comprehensive support approach, based on axes such as institutional, digital, financial and commercial inclusion, and aims to facilitate the creation, consolidation and growth of MSMEs.
Based on an inter-institutional mapping, 74 specific actions promoted by different public and private entities were identified. Among the notable initiatives is the Hand in Hand with Your Business program, which offers training services, business advice, digitalization, commercial linkage and support through face-to-face sessions throughout the country. The policy also contemplates coordination with social programs such as Sembrando Vida and Original, with a territorial approach that seeks to integrate rural, artisanal and traditionally excluded communities from formal productive chains.
However, although the financial inclusion of SMEs is one of the recognized priorities within the policy, its treatment still depends on multiple programs and actors without a common operational framework or specific coordinated goals. Therefore, Mexico could consider deepening, focusing and scaling these actions through more effective financial instruments, greater articulation between levels of government and development banks, and coordination mechanisms that allow identifying what works and where.
Despite persistent challenges, access to financing for Mexican SMEs has shown significant improvement over the last 20 years, especially among formalized companies. In 2018, only 12.4 percent of MSMEs had access to some type of financing, of which 5.7 percent corresponded to bank loans, 2.5 percent to popular savings banks and 2.2 percent to private suppliers and lenders. The National Business Financing Survey (ENAFIN) 2024 indicates that 57.6 percent of small businesses requested financing and 71.3 percent of medium-sized businesses with a concentration of 82.8 percent in commercial banking and 28.5 percent to suppliers (data from INEGI, 2025).
Regarding medium-sized companies, Mexico presents high levels of financing compared to other Latin American countries, reflecting the effort made in recent years in this segment. In 2023, 76 percent of formal medium-sized companies reported having bank loans or lines of credit, ranking above the simple regional average (71.8 percent) and surpassing countries such as Colombia (61.1 percent) and slightly Peru (78.4 percent).
Finally, Mexico stands out in the region for its high access to bank financing among its large companies, reaching 91.9 percent of the total in 2023, above the regional average (85.1 percent). The most significant thing is the starting point; In 2006, only 22.5 percent of large Mexican companies reported having credit, which demonstrates both the barriers existing at that time and the progress made throughout the period.
Who grants credit to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises? According to data from the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV/2024), commercial banking represents 62 percent of the total credit portfolio, followed by development organizations and entities (INFONAVIT, FOVISSSTE, INFONACOT) with 24 percent, development banking 5 percent, regulated non-banking intermediaries 5 percent and unregulated 6 percent.
