Female entrepreneurship, “e-commerce” and logistics, keys for MSMEs in Latin America

electronic commercechains of logisticto efficient and support to female entrepreneurship are vital for the viability of MSMEs in regions such as Latin Americafacing an environment marked by commercial and infrastructure challenges, warns the UPS firm in a report released this Tuesday.

In coincidence with the Day of Microenterprises and Small and Medium Enterprises (mipymes),, the logistics multinational presented the report “Promoting small business growth, resilience and women’s empowerment through trade in the Asia Pacific region”which includes two of the main Latin American economies: Mexico and Chile.

In the analysis “The first thing we detected is that MSMEs are resilient if they have electronic commerce. Second, that it is necessary to work together with governments to facilitate exports and, third, in access to the Internet”said in Washington María Luisa Boyce, vice president of Global Public Affairs of UPS, who referred to the situation in Latin America.

In this regard, he stressed that “one of the incredible findings of the study is that MSMEs are showing resilience thanks to e-commerce” and that there is a “greater empowerment led by women in the region of Pacific Asia and specifically in Mexico and Chile”.

Women and their crucial role

UN data confirms the global relevance of MSMEs as “They represent 90% of companies, between 60 and 70% of employment and 50% of global GDP.”

However, according to the agency, “multiple simultaneous crises have altered the global work environment for entrepreneurs and MSMEs” and they have made you “are extremely vulnerable to increased inflation and supply chain interruptions.”

In this context, Boyce highlighted the recovery in Mexico and Chile, largely due to female entrepreneurship, which was promoted in the midst of the pandemic.

In the case of Mexico, UPS indicates, both SMEs led by women and men have been recovering steadily from the covid-19 crisis. While Chilean MSMEs led by women saw higher revenue growth during the recovery from the pandemic.

“I emphasize Chile because in 2020 it had 57% female empowerment and in 2023 it rose to almost 74%, that is incredible growth and all that generated by electronic commerce,” explained the UPS executive.

Electronic commerce, strategic for MSMEs

The UPS report is based on a survey of 4,700 companies in 12 Pacific economies (Chile, Indonesia, India, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, the US, and Vietnam), of which which 30% were micro-enterprises, 46% were small companies and 22% were medium-sized.

The results show that “SMEs have been recovering from covid-19 in the last two years” and, “Although many did not survive the crisis, those that did, took advantage of electronic commerce and exports as levers for growth.”

In the case of Chile, it was detected that 61% of micro and small companies used some type of marketplace; while 14% of micro and small companies and 26% of medium-sized companies were omnichannel sellers.

According to the report, electronic commerce has allowed Chilean MSMEs to participate in trade and access new markets: in fact, 37% of them intensely diversified their export markets in the 2021-22 period.

On Mexico, 57% of the micro and small companies used some type of “marketplace”; while 12% of micro and small companies and 28% of medium-sized companies were omnichannel sellers.

Informality and customs simplification, among the main challenges

Boyce mentioned that in Mexico and Chile, and in general in the Latin American region, there are several challenges for MSMEs, among which he cited the reduction of informality, training to take advantage of digital infrastructure, customs simplification and knowledge about trade agreements. to facilitate exports.

He also pointed out the cybersecurity measures, the digitization of business processes and the quality of internet connections.

The study also points out as a key aspect the ecological transition of businesses, with the measurement of their carbon footprint and financing.

“First is identifying what the impact on the environment is, how it is measured and how financing can be accessed to make the necessary changes.”, Boyce said, mentioning an eco-exporters program launched by UPS in Mexico, Chile, Costa Rica and Colombia, with which it promotes efficient logistics chains.

Sources: EFE