Mentoring Small and Medium Micro-enterprises in Puebla, Mexico

Microfinance has provided many businesses with access to investment capital, but few microenterprises make the jump to a small or medium size operation, and begin providing jobs for other laborers.  While much of the discussion surrounding access to finance has centered on providing services to microenterprises, SMEs are often seen as the “missing middle” in developing economies.  They are likely too large to be interested in typical microfinance loans, but may be too small to access other sources of capital. SMEs also face competition from larger enterprises, and may lack the management capacity to take advantage of market opportunities.  Addressing the factors that constrain SME growth could have important effects on long-run economic growth and employment.  Many public and private programs already exist with the goal of helping SMEs succeed and become more productive and competitive but little is known about the impact of such mentoring programs on employment generation, firm productivity, and profitability.