This article was translated from our Spanish edition.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
The second and last day of the ASEM 2021 Entrepreneurs Summit had the participation of the Ministry of Economy, Tatiana Clouthier , who spoke with Juana Ramírez, president of the Board of Directors of the Association of Entrepreneurs of Mexico (ASEM), about the policies that the government is implementing to facilitate the birth and strengthening of micro, small and medium enterprises ( Mipymes ) in the country.
Cortesía ASEM
During the discussion ‘Programs and legislation for entrepreneurs and MSMEs’ , the official announced that her agency is about to present the initiative for a timely payment law (initiative promoted by ASEM), with which they seek that large companies pay on time to the small businesses so that they have a flow of capital and can continue to operate.
Regarding timely payment, the Ministry of Economy indicated that small companies can no longer be given ‘mouth-to-mouth breathing’ when large companies have a full tank, as the government has given them opportunities through voluntary agreements so that they pay their invoices to MSMEs in a timely manner; however, the situation for entrepreneurs has not improved.
“At the beginning I said, if there have been two attempts to agree, we are going to give a third and suddenly I realized that if you have already behaved more than twice and do not comply, you would not have to comply in the third time, we would have to force them with the law ”, he emphasized.
He also stressed that his management seeks to facilitate the strengthening of small companies through support, financing via development banks and links with tractor companies, both locally and abroad.
To do this, he explained that the Ministry of Economy is developing mechanisms so that MSMEs -which generate 70% of jobs in the country- can sell their services and products abroad, through the ‘Comercia MX’ program, which links entrepreneurs with consumers and vice versa.
Tatiana Clouthier indicated that, in the Mexican southeast, the government is working with small producers so that they add value to their crops and be able to market them beyond local borders.
On the innovation side, the Ministry of Economy makes calls for entrepreneurs to patent their discoveries and technological applications before the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI) and, later, link with financing funds or associate with other companies to carry out your ideas.
During the talk, the official highlighted the importance of women in the economic reactivation and in the evolution of the MSMEs ecosystem. According to the 2020 X-ray of Entrepreneurship from ASEM, one of the main factors of business failure, and one that occurred mostly in women, is lack of time.
This is due to the fact that many female entrepreneurs, along with their projects, have to carry out other tasks such as taking care of the home or taking care of children and relatives. In this sense, Tatiana Clouthier affirmed that the use of technologies and financing in the businesses led by them will be strengthened.