SEBRAE: Brazil Exceeds 11 Million New Micro Enterprises in 2020, Setting Record

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazil registered 2.6 million new Individual Micro-entrepreneurs (MEIs) in 2020, the highest figure for the past five years, according to a survey by the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service (SEBRAE) with data from the Federal Treasury. Currently, the country has over 11.3 million active MEIs.

“An analysis of entrepreneurial tax evolution in the country for the last 20 years shows that in times of economic recession it is common for Brazilians to resort to entrepreneurship out of need, as an alternative occupation and source of income. This has already occurred in the past, as was observed between 2014 and 2016,” says SEBRAE strategic management analyst Tomaz Carrijo.

Following the 2019 trend, the sectors that led the ranking of activities with the highest number of MEIs created were:

Clothing and accessories retail (180,000);
Sales promotion (140,000);
Hairdressers, manicures and pedicures (131,000);
Food supply for home consumption (106,000);
Masonry works (105,000).

Analyzing the highest growth in the number of new MEIs in 2020, compared to the preceding year, the most prominent areas were:

Transportation (apps) (86%);
Restaurants and similar (59%);
Food supply for home consumption (48%);
Beverage retail (41%).

“We are experiencing an unprecedented crisis and we know how this has demanded an even greater effort from Brazilians who already own small businesses or who seek to be formalized as a solution to their problems. The growth in the number of MEIs shows how much this legal entity has become a key factor in the Brazilian economy over the past ten years,” says the president of SEBRAE, Carlos Melles.