A. M. 
The nearly 70,000 neighborhood stores operating in El Salvador generate around US$3 billion in annual sales, according to estimates presented by the president of the Comisión Nacional de la Micro y Pequeña Empresa (CONAMYPE), Paul Steiner. However, the official warned that lack of access to financing limits the growth of this important economic sector.
According to CONAMYPE,studies, most of these small businesses have insufficient working capital, which prevents them from acquiring enough merchandise. This situation causes them to spend up to 24 of the 30 days of the month out of stock, that is, without products available for sale.
Steiner explained that this phenomenon not only affects neighborhood stores, but also distributors and brands that stop selling their products during those days. To address this problem, the Government of El Salvador, through the Banco de Fomento Agropecuario (BFA), is promoting a new financing initiative aimed at strengthening the working capital of small businesses.
The president of CONAMYPE pointed out that if inventory turnover can be reduced from 24 to 18 days, stores could double their monthly sales, which would have a knock-on effect on sales for distributors and national brands.
“The impact could be measured in billions of dollars and a significant increase in national economic well-being”, said Steiner, who emphasized that this effort is part of the central government’s vision to promote sustainable economic growth from the bottom up.
