President of Sebrae defends small businesses: “We are a country of small economies”

The defense of small businesses as a way of developing municipalities was the highlight of the participation of the president of Sebrae, Décio Lima, this Tuesday (2), during the 3rd Meeting of Municipalist Leaders of Santa Catarina. To this end, the representative of the entity encouraged managers to take Sebrae into public spaces as a way of further strengthening their municipalities.

We are a country with a small economy that is delivering fantastic results. The economy is right there in the municipality. It's this audience we should pay attention to. They are the ones who will make the city's economy grow.

Décio Lima, president of Sebrae

"If you don't have Sebrae's Entrepreneurial City program, contact us. It's an initiative that helps municipalities develop through partnerships and resources, while also protecting the local economic environment," he added. In Santa Catarina, 174 municipalities have already joined the initiative, and there are 149 Entrepreneurship rooms in the state.

At the event, which brought together approximately 200 participants—including municipal managers, city councilors, and civil society representatives—Décio Lima emphasized that the sector is the driving force of the Brazilian economy. "About 60% of Brazilians are aspiring to be entrepreneurs. Last year, more than 1.3 million jobs were created in micro and small businesses, and more than 4.1 million small businesses were created. This year, we expect to have 6 million small businesses open," he commented.

"More than 95% of Brazilian companies are small businesses, they provide the majority of jobs, contribute to 26.5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and demonstrate the capacity and resilience of the Brazilian people, who never give up," added the president of Sebrae.

Décio Lima highlighted concepts prevalent in today's economy that must be preserved in municipal administrations, in partnership with Sebrae. "The first is sustainability, as Brazil alone has six biomes. The second is innovation, as we are an extraordinary and creative country. And the third is the concept of globalization," he commented. "Another fundamental element is inclusion. We are all aware that the most important work is the human work, of changing people's lives to achieve a minimum level of citizenship," he continued.

About the event

Until this Wednesday (3), Brasília hosts the 3rd Meeting of Municipalist Leaders of Santa Catarina, an event promoted by the Participatory Legislation Committee of the Mixed Parliamentary Front for Social Participation, and which has as its proponent federal deputy Pedro Uczai (PT-SC). The objective of the initiative is to bring the leaders of Santa Catarina's municipalities closer to the context of public policies at the federal level, strengthen federative dialogue and debate the formulation of new public policies that are fundamental for Santa Catarina.