MPE increase participation in public purchases by 53%, however forms is a problem

Micro and small companies conquered space in state acquisitions in 2021

Micro and small companies (MPE) negotiated BRL 41 billion in products and services for municipal, state and federal governments last year, through the Compras.gov.br portal. The growth was 53% compared to 2020, according to a Sebrae survey. The volume represented 27.2% of the R$ 150.4 billion bid on the portal. In other words, the proportion of small business participation could – and should – be much higher.

One of the main impediments, explains Denise Donati, Territorial Development analyst at Sebrae Nacional, is the difficulty of small entrepreneurs in dealing with bureaucracy and the complexity of public procurement rules.

Although the federal government portal is the largest public bidding system active in the country, the existence of more than 60 purchasing websites or portals created by municipalities, states and private companies is a complicating factor. This jeopardizes the standardization of public notices and the creation of a single register of MSEs, which are obliged to repeat procedures in each channel. “The complexity of the notices and the lack of standardization are negative factors”, evaluates Donati.

The high level of ignorance about the guarantee of exclusivity in purchases of up to R$ 80 thousand, guaranteed by the General Law for Micro and Small Enterprises (nº 123/2006), also weighs against MSEs. A survey carried out by Sebrae, in 2019, with 4,000 small businesses from all regions of the country showed that 58% had never registered to provide products and services to the State. Of this contingent, 68% were unaware of the value of up to BRL 80,000 for the exclusive purchases of MSEs provided for by law, which also guarantees a quota reserve of up to 25% for the exclusive participation of MSEs, in the bids for goods of a divisible nature. , above this value.

Eduardo Maróstica, professor at FGV and specialist in entrepreneurship, points out the low level of preparation of MSEs for competitions as another bottleneck. “Most small businesses lack expertise and know how [técnico]. As a result, they either don’t take advantage of the opportunity and, in some cases, when they win a public notice, they can’t deliver”, he evaluates.

facilitating application

Despite the difficulties, MSEs represent 67.7% of the total of 452,500 companies registered on Compras.gov.br. In addition to Union purchases, the federal portal brings together 3,243 municipalities, just over 58.2% of the country’s city halls, although this does not mean that all bids in these cities take place on the site.

Small businesses increased their share of purchases made through the portal by 93% between 2018 and 2021, a period in which BRL 494 billion were sold. Micro and small companies won R$ 129.4 billion in bids, reaching 26.2% of the total value negotiated in public acquisitions.

Participation in the offer of products and services can grow and this is one of the objectives of the partnership between Sebrae and the Management Secretariat of the Ministry of Economy, responsible for the Compras.gov.br system [anteriormente chamado Comprasnet]and whose union led to the creation of the Shopping Application called APP Compras.gov.br is available in IoS and Android stores.

The application for cell phones and tablets aims to increase the competitiveness of small businesses in public purchases. The digital tool facilitates registration and search for opportunities.

“The application is a revolution that we are making for micro and small companies. Today, with the Unified Registry [do governo federal]just make the biometric registration and register in the SICAF [Sistema de Cadastro de Fornecedores] by the application. From there, the company can already see opportunities to participate in a bidding process”, explains Donati.

After this first step, she suggests to entrepreneurs to evaluate, before submitting bids. [ou seja, de participar], check if your companies are prepared to perform the service or delivery of the good in the manner established by the public notice. In addition, it is important to pay attention to the documentation, which must be up to date with the Tax Authorities; the delivery location, initially prioritizing participation in your municipality or state [para ganhar experiência]; and the technical characteristics of the products and services in dispute.

“It’s different from the private market, where we buy the good or service available. The public market will hire, for example, a company to renovate a school. In this case, the State does not hire the company without it presenting certificates that prove its technical capacity to provide this service”, compares the Sebrae analyst.

entrepreneurial mindset

Fábio Luís Izidoro, specialist in Administrative and Regulatory Law at Miguel Neto Advogados, points out that public disputes offer competitive advantages for micro and small companies, in addition to individual microentrepreneurs (MEI), which already account for 4.7% of the total number of registered CNPJs. at Compras.gov.br. As the MEI has an annual revenue limit of up to R$ 81 thousand reais, its participation in public acquisitions is also limited to this amount.

The small entrepreneur has in his favor the fact that he can win an electronic auction from a large company even if the price offered is up to 5% higher. “Small entrepreneurs have this price differential to stay in the bidding process. Having the documentation prepared favors you at the time of the dispute”, observes the specialist from Miguel Neto Advogados.

Maróstica, from FGV, recommends, as necessary to transform the “entrepreneurial mindset”, the search for information on the bidding process and resorting to discussion forums to master the technical part.

“Brazil is a continent country with 5,568 municipalities and opportunities are there every day for those who know how to take advantage of them. So is participating in forums and events. There is no excuse anymore, because there is a lot of good content available on digital platforms. It’s about empowering yourself, participating, creating awareness and taking advantage of the great opportunities that exist”, suggests the FGV professor.

Donati points out that Sebrae offers training courses for entrepreneurs and free content with information on government procurement. She also evaluates that the way the Compras.gov.br application was developed helps in learning because it is intuitive and easy to use. “We envision a very positive market for micro and small companies in public procurement. Participation is growing and will improve with the app and its simplifications,” she notes.

Source: Jota