A. M. 
The President of the Comisión Nacional de la Micro y Pequeña Empresa (CONAMYPE), Paul Steiner, reported that 95% of micro and small entrepreneurs in El Salvador invoice less than US$2,400 per month. Of these, 92% invoice less than US$1,000, which means that they only have US$200 per month to cover their basic needs, considering a profit margin of 20%.
Steiner stressed the importance of this sector, noting that 99.6% of the country’s business fabric is made up of micro and small enterprises. In concrete figures, El Salvador has 990 large companies, 2,800 medium-sized companies, 17,000 small companies, 290,000 micro-enterprises and 850,000 self-employed workers. “These companies are the livelihood of millions of salvadorans”, he said.
It was also noted that prior to the reduction in the number of municipalities promoted by the Government of El Salvador, CONAMYPE had already established more than 50 agreements with different municipalities to support them in local economic development programs. These agreements seek to strengthen the business fabric at the municipal level and improve conditions for entrepreneurs.
Collaboration among various institutions has been key to developing policies that benefit this sector. “All last year, 20 institutions worked together, including the Government, the Legislative Assembly, private enterprise and banks”, Steiner detailed.
The president of CONAMYPE emphasized that increasing the income of micro and small businesses is a priority for the salvadoran government. This effort is aligned with the policy of integrating this sector into the formal economy.
“The idea is to create a route to formalization that really opens opportunities for these companies to fully integrate into the country’s economy”, Steiner concluded.
