Specialists warn that, without equivalent improvements in productivity, wage increases begin to narrow the margins of SMEs, particularly those that are labor intensive.
Economists say that the increase in the minimum wage is sustainable only if it is accompanied by greater productivity and investment, otherwise it can lead to pressures on costs, prices and formal employment.
With rising salaries and narrower margins, financing is no longer just for growing faster, but for growing better: organizing finances, gaining productivity and making decisions that sustain the company in the long term.
Marco A. Samaniego, commercial director of Kapitalizer
Financing, necessary to overcome the challenge
According to Kapitalizer, a firm specialized in financing small and medium-sized businesses, around six out of every 10 formal SMEs show signs of financial planning, while almost five out of every 10 have already had prior access to credit, “which reveals a relevant universe of companies with the potential to scale if they have adequate financing, in a context of rising wages.”
The good news is that, although trade uncertainty with the United States moderated credit for large companies, the demand for financing by SMEs remained on the rise, particularly through Sofomes, explained the Report on Regional Economies of the Bank of Mexico (July–September 2025). The document adds that the drop in interest rates has begun to reactivate productive credit among SMEs that had postponed their financing decisions, despite caution in some sectors and regions.
Plan México recognizes this gap and sets the objective that 30% of SMEs have access to financing in the coming years. The strategy seeks to link credit with industrialization, nearshoring and integration into value chains, where needs are no longer limited to working capital, but to industrial infrastructure, energy, logistics and the purchase of productive assets.
Kapitalizer, which has placed more than 3,000 million pesos in credit to the SME sector, explains that financing should always be with a phased approach, accompanied by operational support, so that the credit works as a lever for growth and not only as temporary relief from higher labor costs.
The Ministry of Economy warned that the use of nearshoring It depends on micro, small and medium-sized companies having financing, digitalization and support, since without their integration into supply chains, relocation cannot be consolidated, in a context where labor costs are increasing.
