More than one million small and medium-sized enterprises opened in Russia in 2024

In Russia, the number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) created this year exceeded 1 million, of which 814 thousand were created in the form of individual entrepreneurship (IE). This is stated in the analytical note of the autonomous non-profit organization "National Priorities", which was read by "Izvestia" on December 27.

It is noted that due to this the share of IEs in the sector increased from 64 to 66%. The total number of SMEs - self-employed and individual entrepreneurs - at the end of the year exceeded 6.5 million. At the same time, under the national project "Small and medium-sized entrepreneurship" all start-up and existing entrepreneurs receive business support at any stage of development.

"It is likely that in January 2025 the record for the number of SMEs will be updated. First of all, due to a sharp increase in the number of IE registrations. At the same time, employment in the sector is also increasing. If earlier every third able-bodied resident of the country worked in the sphere of small and medium business, soon it will be every second", - said the head of the SME Corporation Alexander Isaevich.

As follows from the analytical note, by the end of 2024 the number of employed in the SME sector amounted to 29.2 million people - 40% of the total working population of the country. In addition, in a number of Russian regions small business provides more than half of the jobs: in Moscow - 61%, in St. Petersburg - 60%, in the Republic of Kalmykia - 60%, in the Novosibirsk region - 51%.

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Earlier, on December 13, it was reported that the majority of surveyed entrepreneurs (72%) are afraid to take risks and lose money. This is stated in the results of a study of omnichannel marketing platform Calltouch. Many are hesitant to invest in growth because they are unsure about the future. Another common fear is losing out to competitors and losing market share (69% of respondents said so). This is a particular concern for those operating in markets with high competition and low demand.