Brazil is the 7th country with more entrepreneurs, says survey

RIO DE JANEIRO,  BRAZIL – The number of Brazilian entrepreneurs with companies over 3.5 years old grew in Brazil in 2021. Fourteen million people between 18 and 64 years old, or 9.9% of the adult population, run a business of this type in Brazil.

The percentage represents an increase of 1.2 percentage points compared to 2020. With this, Brazil moved from the 13th position in the world entrepreneurship ranking to the 7th.

That is the result the GEM (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor) 2021 released on March 24 shows. It is a global survey on entrepreneurship, which in Brazil is conducted by Sebrae and IBQP (Brazilian Institute for Quality and Productivity).

The survey considers the entrepreneurship rate in 50 countries.

According to the president of Sebrae, Carlos Melles, established ventures, i.e., those that have been in operation for more than 3.5 years, are a sign that people who have opened a business in recent years have managed to “survive the worst” of the pandemic.

Programs to access credit for micro and small businesses, such as Pronampe (the National Program to Support Micro and Small Businesses), were also cited.

“Credit is the number one point. Today’s biggest need is credit; that’s why we are so focused on irrigating the economy,” said Melles. According to him, credit is an “absolutely indispensable” tool to encourage entrepreneurship in Brazil, besides helping to create jobs in Brazil.

Pronampe was created to facilitate access to credit for Brazilian micro and small companies during the pandemic. It provided R$37.5 billion (US$7.8 billion) in financing in 2020. In 2021, the government turned the program into a permanent public policy.

While the rate of established entrepreneurs grew, that of startup entrepreneurs fell. This category gathers nascent (up to 3 months) and new (less than 3.5 years) entrepreneurs. The nascent ones continued with a rate of 10.2%, while the new ones fell from 13.4% to 11%.

According to Sebrae, the nascent ones continue at the same level, indicating that entrepreneurship is still an occupation alternative. Both with informal and formal actions, according to the survey.

Another positive sign, according to the evaluation, is that entrepreneurship by necessity has fallen. In 2020, the rate reached 50.4%. Now, it is at 48.9%. At the same time, entrepreneurship by opportunity grew. Before, 66% went to 76% in 2021.

Another sign that would point to this change in the profile of Brazilian entrepreneurship is the motivation to start a new business. According to the survey, 76% of people state that the motivation is to “make a difference in the world,” a drop of 10 percentage points. On the other hand, those who undertake to “make a living because jobs are scarce” fell from 82% to 77%.

GEM relied on 2,000 interviews with people between 18 and 64. In addition, interviews were also conducted with 46 experts from July to October 2021.

With information from Poder360