There are more small and medium-sized enterprises in the light industry in Russia

According to him, the departure of foreign brands and the growth of state support for small and medium-sized businesses in this area allowed to change the situation.

"For three years, since 2019, the number of SMEs in the domestic light industry has been decreasing and by 2022 it has decreased by 9.1%, to 44 thousand enterprises. The trend began to change in 2022, and as of January 2025, over 53 thousand people were registered in Russia. SMEs in the light industry. In 2024 alone, about 8,000 new companies appeared," Isaevich said.

Small but dear: banks have started to help SMEs analyze sales and business development

How new services support small companies and change their interaction with credit organizations

He recalled that in 2023, the total income of small and medium-sized enterprises in the light industry amounted to about 1.2 trillion rubles. By the end of 2024, according to the SME Corporation, this figure should grow to 1.5 trillion rubles.

"In recent years, companies in this segment have received more than 34 billion rubles of debt financing through various instruments of the SME Corporation. Among them is a special limit of umbrella guarantees for 5 billion rubles, under which entrepreneurs can raise a total of at least 10 billion rubles for the development of their business. In 2024, 205 loan agreements worth more than 2.5 billion rubles were signed within this guarantee limit, and 24 more agreements worth 282 million rubles since the beginning of this year," Isaevich added.

The projects "SME Sews" and "Create Ours" are also being implemented to support small and medium-sized enterprises.

Earlier, on December 27, 2024, it was reported that the number of established SMEs in Russia exceeded 1 million, of which 814 thousand were created in the form of individual entrepreneurship. This was stated in an analytical note by the autonomous non-profit organization National Priorities.