In the first half of 2019, small businesses registered an improvement in the conditions of access to credit in Brazil, according to data from the National Financial System, analyzed by Sebrae. With this, micro and small companies (MPE), Small Business ( EPP) and Individual Microentrepreneurs (MEI) carried out, from January to July last year, a total of 62.3 million credit operations, which represents a growth of 1.48% in relation to the same period in 2018. volume of resources mobilized in financing, the first semester of 2019 registered an increase of 17.11% in comparison with the first semester of the previous year. According to the National Financial System, small businesses obtained R $ 121.3 billion in credit in the first half of last year.

Of the total operations carried out for small businesses, 49.9% were made by EPP, 42.9% by ME and 7.2% by MEI. As for the volume of financed resources, Small Companies absorbed 75.1% of the total credit made available to small companies, followed by ME with 20.6% and MEI with 4.3%. The results corroborate the research on credit conditions (supply, demand and approval level) carried out by the Central Bank. All indicators are still on positive ground, pointing out that the credit market is expected to remain heated in the first half of 2020.

Average interest rates on credit operations remained relatively stable in the first half of 2019, with a small increase being registered for Microenterprises, which now have an average interest rate of 50.7% per year, while the average in 2018 had been 49.2%. When compared to the total average rate for legal entities, the Sebrae study shows that the interest conditions offered to small businesses still need to be improved. In 2019, the average total rate for PJ (all sizes) reached 15.7% per year. The justification for this is that medium and large companies absorb about 80% of all credit granted to Legal Entities in the National Financial System, at much lower rates.

The MEI is the segment for which rates are highest. This is due to the higher level of risk perceived by the SFN and the low volume of funds operated. According to the Sebrae survey, interest differentials have been increasing since 2015 and remain at high levels, evidencing the severely adverse conditions of access to credit by small businesses. In addition, the maintenance of interest rates at high levels, contrasts with the significant falls in the default levels of credit portfolios for this segment in the SFN. Only the ME have maintained the average default level relatively stable since 2017, while both the MEI and the EPP had sharp drops in their levels.

"The expectation with this Central Bank survey is for an even greater improvement in the conditions of supply, demand and credit approvals, maintaining the behavior already recorded throughout the past year", says the president of Sebrae, Carlos Melles. Another relevant aspect for the financing of small businesses in Brazil, according to Melles, with the reduction of interest rates, control of inflation and improvement of expectations regarding economic growth, was the intensification of the entry of new investors into the market, who are betting in startups, small innovation businesses. In 2018, Brazil recorded a record number of startups elevated to the status of unicorns (corporations valued at more than $ 1 billion), drawing the attention of local and international venture capital companies operating in Brazil. "Many want to bet on MSEs focused on finance, agribusiness, education and health, as well as solutions for governments", emphasizes the president of Sebrae. In 2019, this trend was confirmed, with two new companies achieving unicorn status, while another became the first Brazilian decacorn, valued at $ 10 billion. “The tendency is for this to improve even more and that is why Sebrae has been investing in several projects for startups, mainly in the training of these entrepreneurs and also in the training of angel investors, capable of not only contributing resources, but also supporting companies. companies with their experiences, as this will help to expand the financing possibilities for small businesses and also attract even more investors ”, says Carlos Melles”.