45.2% of new financial clients are mypes

In the context of a pandemic, mypes were the most impacted by the closure of activities at the beginning of the health emergency and subsequent restrictions. Given this, the Government ordered measures to facilitate their access to capital to be able to reactivate, such as the Reactiva Peru, FAE-Mype, PAE-Mype programs.

Thus, between March 2020 and September 2021, credit to microenterprises grew 12% and represents 31% of clients. While small business loans rose 30%, being 10% of the total in the financial system, according to a study by Experian Peru.

For Arturo Garcia, an economist at Esan, credit to micro and small companies is an important gateway to bankarization, since 45.2% of new clients of the financial system enter with products for mypes.

“About 3 million clients of the financial system are micro and small companies. These credits allow to finance the ventures, give them growth sustainability, formalize these businesses ”, the specialist pointed out.

In detail, in the southern regions such as Ica, Ayacucho, Arequipa, Moquegua, Tacna, Apurímac, Cusco and Puno the mype sector predominates with 52% of the total loan portfolio, followed by central regions (San Martín, Áncash, Huánuco, Pasco, Junín and Huancavelica) with 52%. While in the eastern zone such as Loreto, Ucayali and Madre de Dios, loans to mypes are 51.3% of the total system.

However, despite this greater predominance of financing for micro and small companies in some regions, there are rural areas that are not reached by banking. In this regard, García recalled that within the powers requested by the Executive al Congress There is legislation on financial matters, and one of the proposals is that the Banco de la Nación give loans to this underserved segment.

“I believe that this will actually help a lot for bankarization, in addition to increasing connectivity in the country and facilitating digital operations. Nevertheless, With the Banco de la Nación, we must be cautious to provide them previously with technological information and human resources so that it is a properly evaluated loan and maintains the average portfolio quality of the financial system ”, he emphasized.

Digitization as a way of inclusion

With the arrival of the pandemic, digitization also accelerated and with it contactless payment methods are being consolidated, reducing the use of cash. Thus, 6 out of 10 Peruvians increased the use of technological financial tools.

Likewise, according to data from The Economist Intelligence Unit, more than 12 million Peruvians use digital means of payments between electronic wallets and mobile applications, which represents 36% of the population nationwide.

This becomes relevant online with the fact that 81% of Peruvians indicated that they would buy more in mypes if they offered more payment options, such as contactless, online purchases or mobile app.

“Financial inclusion is the main growth engine for mypes. For this reason, it is vital that they include digital channels in their businesses and the necessary tools to strengthen and boost their access to credit, ”said Juan Carlos Venturo, Country Manager of Experian Peru.

Presence of women in microcredits

Of a total of 2,173,983 microenterprises with loans, 59% are led by women, while 41% by men.

This trend of greater female presence was also seen at the level of the entire loan portfolio until 2019. However, with the arrival of the COVID-19, the figures were reversed.

Thus, before the pandemic, women constituted the highest percentage of new banked clients: 51% versus 49% of men. But between September 2020 and September 2021, it was men with 53% versus 47% women.