麦肯锡 -聚焦中小企业：智利的生产率机遇 A microscope on small businesses Chiles productivity opportunity

McKinsey

&Company

McKinseyGlobalInstitute

Amicroscopeonsmallbusinesses:

Chile'sproductivityopportunity

Overcomingscale-relatedbarriersandstrengtheningtieswithotherfirms-bothlarge

andsmall-canhelpsmallbusinessesinChilemaximizetheirpotentialandnarrowthe

productivitygap.

Authors

AlejandroKrell

JaimeSzigethi

KanmaniChockalingam

MariaJesusRamírez

June2026

Confidentialandproprietary.

Anyuseofthismaterialwithout

specificpermissionofMcKinsey

&Companyisstrictlyprohibited.

Copyright◎2026McKinsey&Company.

Allnightsreserved.

CoverimageOPatricioNahuelhual/GettyImages

Contents

Ataglance1

Smallbusinessesarethebedrockof

theglobaleconomy-andChileisnoexception2

Chileansmallbusinessesstrugglewithproductivity7

MoreproductiveMSMEscouldboostChile'sgrowth9

BarrierstoMSMEproductivity:Technology,

humancapital,marketaccess,andfinance11

Apathtohigherproductivity:Networksandinteractions13

WhatstakeholderscandotodriveMSMEproductivity20

oGctylmago

Ataglance

—Micro-,small,andmedium-sizeenterprises(MSMEs)arethebackboneoftheChilean

economy.Theyrepresentnineoutoftenenterprises,employsixoutoftenworkers,and

produce45percentofgrossnationalsales.

—InChile,MSMEsare44percentasproductiveaslargecompanies,comparedwith60

percentinadvancedeconomiesonaverage.Afteradecadeofproductivitystagnation,

narrowingthisgapisparticularlyvital,withpotentialgainsequivalentto6percentofChile's

GDP.

一MSMEperformancevariesacrosssectors.Chileinparticularlagsbehindinlargesectors

suchasagriculture,manufacturing,mining,andwholesaleandretailtrade,whichcombined

makeupmorethan40percentofsmall-businessemployment

—Interactionsbetweensmallandlargebusinessesarekeytoboostingproductivity.

Strengtheningnetworksandcollaborationwithlargecompanies-insupplychains,industry

clusters,andcustomer-providerinteractions-couldhelpMSMEsgainadvantagesofscale

intechnology,humancapital,marketaccess,andfinance.

Amicroscopeonsmallbusinesses:Chile'sproductivityopportunity1

Chilehasmaintainedmacroeconomicstabilityfordecades,yetproductivitygrowthhas

stagnatedsincetheearly2000s,evolvingfromabout4percentintheearly1990stoabout1

percentsincethe2000s.1Asaresult,thecountry'sabilitytoraiseincomes,innovate,andremain

globallycompetitivehasbeenlimited.

Micro-,small,andmedium-sizedenterprises(MSMEs)²arecentraltoeconomiesaroundthe

world-andChileisnoexception.Ourresearchshowstheyaccountformorethan90percent

offirms,nearlytwo-thirdsofemployment,and45percentoftotalsales.YetMSMEsremain

significantlylessproductivethanlargefirms,hinderedbylimitedaccesstocapital,technology,

andskilledlabor.

ClosingthisproductivitygapisessentialfornotonlyChile'sMSMEsbutalsoitsbroader

economicperformance.However,thischallengeiscompoundedbybusinesslongevity:Only44

percentofMSMEssurvivebeyondfiveyears,whichcandiscouragelong-terminvestmentand

thereforegrowth.3

ThisreportbuildsoninsightsinMcKinsey'sreportAmicroscopeonsmallbusinesses:Spotting

opportunitiestoboostproductivity,4exploringhowconnectingMSMEswithlargerfirmsand

strengtheningaccesstofinance,talent,andtechnologycancatalyzeproductivityacrossChile's

economy.Withtherightenablersinplace-strategiccollaborationwithlargefirms,betteraccess

tofinance,andstrongerdigitalandhumancapital-MSMEscanbecomeapowerfulengineof

inclusiveandsustainablegrowthforChile.

Smallbusinessesarethebedrockoftheglobal

economy—andChileisnoexception

TheMcKinseyGlobalInstituteaggregatedagranulardatasetofMSMEsandlargecompanies

across12broadsectors,68level-twosubsectors,andmorethan200level-threesubsectors

for16countrieswithdifferentincomelevels,collectivelyaccountingformorethan50percent

ofglobalGDP.5Thisgroup(listedbypercapitaGDPin2021intermsofpurchasingpowerparity)

includessixemergingeconomies(Mexico,Brazil,Indonesia,India,Nigeria,andKenya)and

tenadvancedeconomies(theUnitedStates,Germany,Australia,theUnitedKingdom,Italy,

Israel,Japan,Spain,Poland,andPortugal).MSMEsplayalargeroleacrosstheboard;inthese

economies,MSMEsaverage66percentofemploymentand54percentofvalueadded(asa

metricfortotalGDP).

"Chile"inFoundationsforgrowthandcompetitiveness2026,OECD,April9,2026;Infomeanualdeproductividad2025

[Annualproductivityreport2025],ComisiónNacionaldeEvaluaciónyProductividad[NationalCommissionforEvaluationand

Productivity],January16,2026.

2Enterprisesizesaretypicallydefinedbythenumberofpersonsemployed.Wetakeeachcountry'snationaldefinitionof

MSMEs.Forexample,forEuropeaneconomiesinoursample,weusedtheOECD'sdefinitionofMSMEs.TheOECDthresholds

areasfollows:Microenterprisesemployninepeopleorfewer,smallenterprisesemploybetweentenand49people,medium-

sizecompaniesemploybetween50and249,andlargecompaniesemploy250ormore.However,definitionsofenterprise

sizesmayvarybycountry.Forexample,intheUnitedStates,largecompaniesaredefinedashaving500ormoreemployees.

IndonesiaandKenyadefinebusinesseswith100ormoreemployeesaslarge,andNigeriasetsthethresholdat200.Indiaand

IndonesiadefineMSMEsbasedontheirrevenueandtheirinvestmentinplantandequipmentaswellasemployment.While

thismakescross-countrycomparisonsinexact,itenablesustousereporteddatamoredirectlyandtolimitassumptions.

3"Demografiaanualdeempresas,DAE:Resultados2024”["Annualbusinessdemographics,DAE:Results2024"],Banco

CentraldeChile[CentralBankofChile],2024.

4"Amicroscopeonsmallbusinesses:Spottingopportunitiestoboostproductivity,"McKinseyGloballnstitute,May2,2024;

leveltwoandlevelthreearestandarddefinitionsofeconomicsectorspertheInternationalStandardIndustrialClassification

ofAllEconomicActivities,Rev.4.

5"Amicroscopeonsmallbusinesses:Spottingopportunitiestoboostproductivity,"McKinseyGloballnstitute,May2,2024.

2Amicroscopeonsmallbusinesses:Chile'sproductivityopportunity

InChile,MSMEsareresponsiblefornearlytwo-thirdsofemploymentand45percentof

totalsales(Exhibit1).6Yetmanyoperateunderadverseconditions,includinglimitedaccess

tofinancing,lowtechnologyadoption,andconstrainedworkforceskills.Thesechallenges

contributetohighratesofbusinessclosures.Infact,20percentofMSMEsclosewithintheirfirstt

year,andmorethan55percentdonotsurvivebeyondtheirfifthyear.Thislackoflongevityposes

asignificantobstacletosustainableeconomicdevelopment.?

Exhibit1

Micro-,small,andmedium-sizeenterprisesinChileaccountfor64percent

ofemploymentand45percentofsales.

Shareofbusinesses,employment,andnetsalesformicro-,small,andmedium-size

enterprisesinChile,1%

Medium-sizeenterprises

MicroenterprisesSmallenterprisesLargecompanies

(1-9employees)(10-49employees)(50-250employees)(>250employees)

Businesses

Employmentinthe

38121436

businesssector

Netsales2inthe21101455

businesssector

Note:Figuresmaynotsumto100%,becauseofrounding.

Excludedsectorsrealestate,financialservices,andthepublicsector.

2Grosssalesdiscountedby199%value-addedtaxand~3%averageadditionaltaxes.

Source:McKinseyanalysisof"Estadisticasdeempresa”Companystatistics",SericiodeImpuestosInternosdeChileInternalRevenueServiceofChilel,

accessedSept9,2025

McKinsey&Company

Intermsofemploymentdistribution,Chilelookssimilartoadvancedeconomies,whereMSMEs

alsogenerateroughlytwo-thirdsofjobs.Invalueadded,however,theshareofMSMEsinChile

(45percent)alignsmorecloselywithemergingeconomies(49percent),comparedwith54

percentinadvancedeconomies(Exhibit2).8

6UsingpubliclyavailabledataonrevenueandemploymentdatacollectedyearlybyServiciodeImpuestosInternos[Internal

RevenueService](SII-thecountry'staxauthority-forallthecountry'senterprises,thisreportaddsChiletothelist

presentedabove.Thisreport'sgoalistoaddadifferentperspectivetothevastliteratureonMSMEproductivitythathasbeen

generatedinthecountry,offeringaninnovativeandupdatedinternationalperspectiveandbenchmarkexercise,situating

thecountry'sMSMEs'positionrelativetoasetofadvancedandemergingeconomies.Thedatasetspans21broadsectors

and232level-threesubsectors,whichcanbeaggregatedinto88level-twosubsectors.Coveringtheperiod2005-23,the

analysisfocusesonthemostrecentyearavailable(2023).InChile,thetaxauthorityusestwodefinitionsforMSMEs:first,

asalesdefinition(MSMEsselllessthan100,000Chileanunitsofaccountyearly)andsecond,anemploymentdefinition

(MSMEsemploylessthan250people).Forcomparabilityreasons,thisreportusestheemployment-baseddefinition,because

88percentofthecountriesincludedintheglobalreportuseit.

7"Demografiaanualdeempresas,DAEresultados2024”[“Annualbusinessdemographics,DAEresults2024",BancoCentral

deChile[CentralBankofChile],accessedMay2026.

8FiguresforChilearebasedonsalesratherthanonvalueadded.

Amicroscopeonsmallbusinesses:Chile'sproductivityopportunity3

Exhibit2

Micro-,small,andmedium-sizeenterprisesgeneratethemajorityofjobs

androughlyhalfoftotalcorporatevalueadded.

Micro-,small,andmedium-sizeenterpriseshareofvalueaddedandemploymentbybusiness

sector¹andeconomy

●Emergingeconomies■Microenterprises■Medium-sizeenterprises

●Advancedeconomies■SmallenterprisesLargecompanies

ShareofvalueaddedinShareofvalueaddedby

businesssector,%companysize,%

100-

2018

Emerging

economies

average=49Advanced1416

economies

average=54

Portugal

Indonesia15

Israel20

60itay

ValueaddedKenyaMexicoSpain●

Japan●Australia

BrazilPoland

Chile51

46

●NigeriaUS

●India

20-

EmergingAdvanced

10economieseconomies

PercapitaGDP,$

ShareofemploymentinShareofemploymentby

businesssector,%companysize,%

100-

●Kenya

●Indonesia29

●Nigeria

Portugal

Mexicoo●srael

SpainJapanAustralia

IndiaChile

Employment60BrazilPolandGermany

LEmergingUK·

economies

Advanced-

average=77

economies

average=6634

20-

EmergingAdvanced

207080economieseconomies

PercapitaGDP,$

Note:FiguresforChilearebasedonsalesratherthanonvalueadded.

IYearforwhichdataisavailalorrepresentedvariesbycountryfrom2016to2019.Analysisexcludesnotablesectorsinadvancedandemergingeconomies

agriculture,financialservices,andrealestate,amongothers.

2Purchasingpowerparity,2021.

Source:“"Amicroscopeonsmallbusinesses:Sptingopportunitiestoboostprodutivity,"McKinseyGloballnstitute,May2,2024;Mckinseyanalysisof

ServiciodeImpuestosInternosdeChile[lnternalRevenueServiceofChile]datafromMay2024andOct2025

McKinsey&Company

4Amicroscopeonsmallbusinesses:Chile'sproductivityopportunity

Sectorpatternsalsodiffer.Inaccommodationandfoodservices,forexample,MSMEsaccount

foralmost75percentofworkersand70percentofsales.Inagriculture,however,theyaccount

for80percentofemploymentbutonly40percentofsales,illustratinganimbalanceinthe

sector'slaborintensityandoutput.Importantly,MSMEsplayasignificantroleinnearlyevery

sector,withthenotableexceptionofminingandutilities,wherehighbarrierstoentry,suchas

upfrontinvestments,permits,andeconomiesofscale,limittheirinvolvement(Exhibit3).

Exhibit3

Thecontributionsofmicro-,small,andmedium-sizeenterprisesvary

acrosssectorsintermsofsalesandemployment.

Micro-,small,andmedium-sizeenterpriseshareofsalesandemployment,%

Participationintotalrevenueandemployment,%

Employment,%Netsales,%

05010050100

Wholesaleandretail2232

Manufacturing1017

Others10764

Administrativeservices623

Construction106

Transportation8636

Agriculture4010

Health6

Accommodationandfood2

Education

Informationandcommunication22

Mining12

Utilities3

Average=64Average=45

Includesotherserviceactivities;arts;andprofessional,scientific,andtechnicalactivities.

Source:Mckinseyanalysisof"Estadisicasdeempresa”rCompanystatistics",ServiciodeImpuestosInternosdeChileInternalRevenueServiceofChilel,

accessedSept9,2025

McKinsey&Company

Amicroscopeonsmallbusinesses:Chile'sproductivityopportunity5

Insomeadvancedeconomies,MSMEsareanimportantsourceofeconomicdynamism,serving

asapipelineforfirmsthatgrowandscaleintolargecompaniesovertime.IntheUnitedStates,

17percentofpubliclytradedfirmsvaluedat$10billion(88thpercentile)ormorein2023were

MSMEsatsomepointsince2000(Exhibit4).Whenconsideringthelargestpubliclytraded

companiesinChile-thosevaluedatmorethan$3.5billion-thenumberofthosethatwere

MSMEsatsomepointsincethe2000siszero.9

Exhibit4

Smallfirmscontributetodynamism.

Shareoflargepubliccompaniesthatweremicro-,small,andmedium-sizeenterprises(MSMEs)

atsomepointsince2000,%

USaverage=17%(67companies)Totalnumberof

vs19%averageacrosscountriesscaledcompanies

Informationand

12

communication

Manufacturing45

Mining12

Retaland3

wholesaletrade

Utilities

'Largecompaniesdefinedaspubliccompanieswithmarketcapitalization>510bilion(asofDec2022)Numberofargecompanies=403,ofwhich67were

MSMEsatsomepointsince2000.Thelistedsectorsinclude361largecompanies,ofwhich65wereMSMEsatsomepointsince2000.

Source:"America'ssmallbusinesses:Timetothinkbig,"McKinseyGloballnstitute,Oct2,2024

McKinsey&Company

AlthoughnoneofthelargestcompaniesinChilewereMSMEsatanypointinthe2000s,there

isstillsomedynamismworthnoting.Datafromarecentlongitudinalsurveyofcompanies

conductedbytheMinistryofEconomy,Development,andTourismshowsthat16percentof

enterprisesthatwereclassifiedasMSMEsin2007werelargeenterprisesby2021or2022.0

Furthermore,twotechstart-upsfoundedinthepastdecade-NotCoandBetterfly-achieved

unicornstatuswithvaluationsof$1billionormore.Bothcompanieswereabletoscalebasedon

investmentsininnovationandtechnology.

9“"Listadodeemisoresdevalores”["Listofsecuritiesissuers"],LaComisiónparaelMercadoFinanciero[TheFinancial

MarketCommission],accessedJune1,2026;"Empresaschilenasdegrancapitalización"[Chileanlarge-capcompanies],