Small businesses and individual micro-entrepreneurs (MEI) make up the vast majority of companies in the country. According to the Ministry of Entrepreneurship, Microenterprise and Small Businesses, In the fourth quarter of 2025, 93% of the total number of active companies fell into these categories. The document also reveals that the MEI category has been the main gateway for those who decide to undertake formal business in the country. Although smaller, these entrepreneurs also need resources to maintain or even expand their businesses. To this end, the financial system has been improving the so-called microcredit.

The first well-known international experience of microcredit dates back to the 1970s in Bangladesh. The model is attributed to economist Muhammad Yunus, who created a loan modality of USS$ 27 for low-income women to finance their small businesses, giving rise to the Grammen Bank. Since then, the model has spread around the world, encouraged by civil society organizations and, more recently, by governments.

In Brazil, microcredit is defined by the Central Bank of Brazil as credit operations aimed at financing the productive activity of individuals and companies with gross annual income of up to R$ 360 thousand. The institutionalization of this modality began in the early 2000s, with the creation of the National Program for Oriented Productive Microcredit (PNMPO) as a milestone in this process. Subsequently, stimulating microcredit was included as one of the objectives of what was then known as the BC# Agenda.

Oriented productive microcredit is a specific type of microcredit. The rules that distinguish these operations are: an effective interest rate limit of 4% per month and a minimum term of 120 days for the operation. In addition, the outstanding balance of this type of loan is limited to R$ 21,000 per contractor in the same institution and R$ 80,000 in the financial system as a whole. These limits are designed to prevent over-indebtedness.

In addition, targeted productive microcredit establishes the use of a specific granting and control methodology, as detailed in the CMN Resolution No. 4.854. The specific methodology includes guidance on business planning and operation monitoring, risk assessment and control mechanisms for the operations carried out.

Data from the Central Bank shows that the country's oriented productive microcredit portfolio reached R$ 9.53 billion in June 2025, with growth of 25% compared to June 2024. Despite the recent significant growth, the data shows a significant drop between mid-2022 and mid-2024, after a period of strong growth.

Globally, the microfinance sector reached an estimated total market size of US$ 195.3 billion in gross loan portfolio (GLP) in 2023, according to the Atlas Financial Impact Barometer. Financial institutions involved in microcredit reported that around 142 million borrowers used this type of credit in the period, with South and Southeast Asia predominating, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean.

There are good reasons to imagine a positive impact of microcredit on socio-economic variables. However, it is always important to subject public policies to impact assessment to see what the data says. A “Text for discussion” published by IPEA in June 2025 seeks to analyze the impact of the “Agroamigo” program on socio-economic indicators in the Northeast region.. Agroamigo“ is a Banco do Nordeste program created in 2005 that offers credit and guidance for family farming.

IPEA's econometric analysis shows that the program had a positive impact on GDP per capita, agricultural activity and formal employment in the region's municipalities. The study indicates that a growth of 1% in the amount of credit is associated with a growth of between 0.15% and 0.29% in GDP per capita. The impact on municipal agricultural activity was estimated at between 0.14% and 0.24% when credit grew by 1%. Analyzing the heterogeneity of the effects of credit between municipalities, the data also suggests that the impacts tend to be greater in poorer cities.

In the Brazilian market, the microcredit system is gaining an important ally with the increased visibility provided by the latest advances in credit information systems. Even if the target audience has little relationship history, data from other sectors and partnerships with the Central Bank can be used to map risk, making it possible to democratize access to credit and paving the way for small businesses to grow.

ANBC recognizes the socio-economic importance of microcredit and remains committed to collaborating with the dynamic of expanding microcredit in a sustainable way.

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