This study focuses on how Latin America¿s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can participate in global markets in a way that provides for sustainable growth. In addition, it study analyzes the impact of collective efficiency on clusters upgrading and undertakes an investigation of the...

Access to finance remains a challenge for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Argentina. It is a particularly acute problem among newly created SMEs that have a scant credit record and frequently lack collateral. The authors of this paper carried out a pilot test of an innovative psychometric...

The IDB Group, guided by its Strategy for Microenterprise Development, has made the creation of a sustainable market of services to the sector one of its most important priorities during the past decade. This report presents an overview of the contributions the IDB has made to the...

This study examines the impact of innovation strategies on employment growth in four Latin American countries (Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, and Uruguay) using micro-data for manufacturing firms from innovation surveys. Building on the model proposed by Harrison et al. (2008), we relate...

This report evaluates the Program for the Development of Industrial Districts in Brazil, launched in 2003 with funding from the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF). The program played an important role in helping small and medium enterprises (SMEs) improve productive factors and governance in...

This presentation discusses the impact of the Program for the Development of the Industrial Districts in Brazil. It includes the program background, an output and outcomes comparison, the key findings of the impact evaluation, and a series of lessons and recommendations. The presentation was...

As one of its goals, the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) aims to improve the management and competitiveness of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in different sectors in Latin America and the Caribbean. To that end, MIF supports activities that promote the creation and strengthening of...

This presentation discusses the impact of the Program for the Support of the Software Sector in Uruguay. It includes a brief summary of the project, the program outputs and outcomes, the key findings of the impact evaluation, and lessons and recommendations. It was presented at the Impact...

The Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) supports activities that promote the creation and strengthening of support services that will spur development of SMEs and stimulate demand for the use of such services. The Program for the Development of Industrial Districts in Brazil is a good example of...

SMEs are positioning themselves as a strategic branch of banking operations in the region, while banks are increasingly pushing for more active policies when it comes to the financing of SMEs. This is one of the highlighted conclusions from a 2011 joint survey conducted by the Inter-American...