the government of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (PT) plans to implement a series of measures to strengthen micro and small companies. The actions, ranging from offering credit to strategies to boost exports, are aimed at creating new jobs.
According to Sebrae (Brazilian Support Service for Micro and Small Companies), small businesses created 93.5% of job openings with a formal contract in November 2022. From January to November, micro companies were responsible for 1.8 million new jobs.
“We are going to boost small and medium-sized companies, potentially the biggest generators of jobs and income, entrepreneurship, cooperativism and the creative economy”, stated Lula in his inauguration speech at the National Congress.
Among the measures envisaged by Lula is the implementation of the program undertake Brazil, which proposes to facilitate access to credit for more than 6 million micro and small companies that are in default. The proposal has 5 pillars:
- facilitate access to credit – with the creation of new lines of financing;
- clear rules – enabling better working relationships;
- changes in the BNDES – resuming the BNDES Credit Card to finance investments by micro, small and medium-sized companies and individual entrepreneurs, including individual micro-entrepreneurs, the MEIs;
- contain the indebtedness helping entrepreneurs who got into debt during the pandemic;
- market reserve – reserve part of government purchases for small and medium-sized companies.
During the campaign, the president said that state-owned banks must offer credit for microentrepreneurs. The list of bodies that can fulfill this mission includes BNDES (National Bank for Economic and Social Development), Banco Brasil, Caixa Econômica, Banco do Nordeste and Banco da Amazônia.
Lula should also create consortia to boost the export of goods and services by micro and small companies to other countries. According to the economic team that participated in the transition, exports by small businesses correspond to only 1% of total goods and services sent abroad, and the consortia aim to increase this number.
ALCKMIN’S COMMAND
the vice president Geraldo Alckmin (PSB) defended, in his inauguration speech as minister of the MDIC (Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade), an integral agenda to support micro and small companies. The minister also spoke about the need to implement support programs for startups.
Under Alckmin’s umbrella is the Secretariat for Micro and Small Enterprises and Entrepreneurship, which will have 3 departments:
- Department of Crafts and Individual Microentrepreneur;
- Department of Business Environment, MSEs and Entrepreneurship; and
- National Department of Business Registration and Integration.
“For Brazil to be competitive in the foreign market, it needs to import, it needs an agenda of integral support to micro and small companies that make the economy turn and Brazil grow. For example, our President Lula indicates that it is urgent for our agenda to include measures that reduce the deficit of priority and digitization of micro and small businesses, inducing them to an authentic digital transformation”stated Alckmin in possession of it.
The secretariat’s competences were published in the Official Diary of the Union on January 1st. Read:
- implement programs and actions to support handicrafts;
- formulate and coordinate the national development policy;
- coordinate the Permanent Forum of Micro and Small Businesses;
- improve and simplify regulatory, fiscal, financing and investment mechanisms, respecting the principles of sustainable development;
- develop actions to support insertion in the Brazilian economy and in the international market;
- support the Minister of State in articulating and supervising the bodies and entities involved in integration for the registration and legalization of companies;
- oversee the public registration of commercial enterprises and related activities;
- propose plans, guidelines and implement actions aimed at integrating the registration and legalization of companies; and
- propose public policies and programs that promote business innovation, the improvement of management and production practices, and the development of new technologies to increase productivity and competitiveness.
unrolls
The Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad (PT), said in an interview with the website Brazil 247 that the program “unrolls”, which proposes the negotiation of debts, should be extended to small business owners. The proposal should be presented to President Lula still in January.
The program must be implemented through state banks, such as Caixa and Banco do Brasil, but the expectation is that private banks will also be part of the proposal. “In January, the debt program will be for individuals, but there will be lines for legal entities”he stated.
permanent minimum wage
The Minister of Labor and Employment, Luiz Marinho, said that he will present to the National Congress a policy of permanent appreciation of the minimum wage until May. The new value of the minimum wage, which went from R$ 1,212 (2022 value) to the current R$ 1,320, came into effect on January 1st.
In an inauguration event at the ministry, Marinho also said that he wants to present a proposal for regulating work by application in the 1st half of this year, which should be part of a labor reform “sliced”.
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