The acronym SME (can also be found as SME) is used to refer to small and medium-sized companies that exist in the market of a country. Small and medium-sized companies or SMEs are characterized by being different from large companies, especially different from the gigantic multinationals that are common today. SMEs are generally made up of a limited number of people or workers, have a much smaller budget, and therefore receive some help or assistance from the corresponding governments.
SMEs are companies that are characterized mainly by having a much lower level of resources and possibilities than those of large companies. The term also applies to companies that generate up to a certain amount of money or annual profits, so all those that do not exceed the established limit or parameter (which varies from country to country) would no longer be considered as such.
SMEs usually have help or subsidies from the States that seek to reactivate areas of the economy that are left blank by multinationals or simply to favor the economy and the rise in formal employment. Many of these small and medium-sized companies complement activities and areas that are not formally reached, for example when talking about outsourced or outsourced companies.
While the benefits of SMEs are that they need a much lower investment, at the same time that they are usually run by the owners themselves or by worker cooperatives, the problems that a small or medium-sized company can have are generally related to movements of the market and with the supply and demand of the products or services that they offer. Faced with this situation, multinational or large-scale companies have much greater room for maneuver, while some economic crises or shocks can easily make many SMEs disappear.
