The Brazilian Service of Support to Micro and Small Enterprises (Sebrae) estimates that 26% of small businesses are in default.
The information results from a survey conducted by the institution in partnership with the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
According to Sebrae’s data, 63% of these small businesses are in debt.
More than half of them state that their monthly costs are committed with these payments, according to the website Poder360.
The proportion rises to 61% in the individual microentrepreneur segment.
Even with debts, small business entrepreneurs resist applying for credit.
The survey shows that only 34% sought loans between January and March 2023.
In addition, only 40% of those who sought credit received positive responses from financial institutions.
The data are from April and May.
Décio Lima, president of Sebrae, said that the agency is working to increase the credit supply to small businesses.
The strategy is to create guarantee funds to facilitate access and reduce interest rates. He cited, for example, a partnership with the Financier of Studies and Projects (Finep).
According to Lima, Sebrae will put R$80 million into the fund, and Finep will set aside R$50 million.
The amount should generate financing at interest rates of 2.5% a year.
With information from Revista Oeste
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