Brazil is experiencing a small business expansion. In July 2025, the country registered the opening of 433,000 new companies with this profile. Individual micro -entrepreneurs (MEI), microenterprises (ME) and small companies (EPP) accounted for 96.3% of all enterprises registered this month. It is the best result since March, according to Sebrae’s last survey.
Accumulated between January and July, small businesses also stand out, 96.9% of the 3.1 million companies open. The services sector leads the creation of enterprises, with 1.9 million records in the period, and 77% correspond to MEI and 23% to MPE. States such as Sao Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro concentrate the largest number of formalizations, reflecting the strength of large urban centers as entrepreneurship poles.
SEBRAE data also show that pouch and delivery activities (7.9%) are among leaders in opening MEIs, followed by road cargo transportation (7.6%). “Small businesses are the force that moves Brazil. For the country, this represents job creation and inclusion,” says Sebrae President Décio Lima.
New Entrepreneur Profile
With the advancement of e-commerce, food delivery and local logistics solutions, projections, according to Sebrae, indicate that the delivery sector will continue to grow in the coming years. Luciano Raimundo Contarine, 48, from Belo Horizonte, is an example of this profile of small entrepreneurs. After years working with maintenance, four months ago he decided to invest in delivery services, motivated by the growth of the sector and the possibility of formalization as MEI.
“My cousin made deliveries to e-commerce companies and convinced me to enter this area. Today I was formalized and I deliver only to a city bread company in the city,” he explains. To adapt, he exchanged by car for a model with luggage rack. Luciano today makes about ten deliveries a day, with larger gains than in the old job and, according to him, with more autonomy of schedules.
But the plans don’t stop there. “I also have a motorcycle and I want to enjoy the moment to enter the food delivery at night,” he says.
