Micro and Small Enterprise Development Centers and the Entrepreneur in El Salvador

Abstract

The Development Center of Micro and Small Enterprises (known as CDMYPE) model has been promoted in El Salvador since 2010, and it is defined in the 2009-2014 Strategic Plan of the Ministry of Economy through the National Commission of the Micro and Small Enterprise (known as CONAMYPE). This was an innovative response from the Government due to the need of encouraging the Micro and Small enterprise and of expanding coverage of services. The objective is to develop a management process of change toward a new work projection. The intervention and territorial attention model is used.

This article describes some general and working aspects of the investigated CDMYPE centers as well as the needs and obstacles that entrepreneurs who use the services face.

Findings show the strongest obstacles mentioned in the corporate sector. First, violence and extortion heavily affect the costs and the expansion of the supply. Second, taxes and cumbersome regulations affect both the liquidity and legalization of the enterprise. Finally, many times, the access to financing does not allow to finalize, develop and expand the projects.