Entrepreneurship strengthens in 2025 in Brazil

Compared to the first quarter of 2024, the number of MEIs increased by 35% nationwide. Among micro and small businesses, the expansion was 28%. In March 2025, the service sector dominated openings, accumulating 257,156 new small businesses (63.7% of the total). Next come Commerce, with 83,921 registrations (20.8%), and Manufacturing Industry, with 30,859 new CNPJs (7.6%).

For Nassim Katri Neto, founder of the Pinta Mundi Tintas franchise network, national entrepreneurship is experiencing a moment of reinvention. According to him, 2025 presents a scenario of opportunities, but also requires discipline, management and preparation to face challenges such as high costs, bureaucracy and strong competitiveness.

“The biggest challenge today is not the lack of ideas, it’s the lack of execution. There are many good people who give up because they underestimated the weight of money, leadership and the ability to make difficult decisions. Those who understand this move forward,” he analyzes.

Still according to the businessman, three sectors have strengthened. The first is specialty retail, particularly in the housing and construction segments, which has continued to grow even during periods of instability. He then highlights vocational education, which has gone from trend to necessity.

“Finally, I highlight local services, which follow people’s real lives: maintenance, renovation, convenience and local experiences. In general, anyone who knows how to combine convenience, results and humanized service is one step ahead,” he says.

Challenges persist: entrepreneurial education and bureaucracy

Despite progress in supporting entrepreneurs from government, investors and society, the businessman points out that there are still gaps in entrepreneurial training. For him, there is a lack of practice and applicable content. “Another critical point is bureaucracy: the entrepreneur wastes too much energy on processes that do not generate growth,” he adds.

For 2026, Nassim believes that the year will be that of the consolidation of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Brazil. The economy, according to him, tends to stabilize and give way to more organized and professionalized companies.

“Whoever is prepared, with a complete operation, a trained team and a clear positioning, will experience above-average growth. Brazil remains one of the countries with the greatest consumption potential and that does not change, it changes the way of creating value,” he explains.

As for his own business, the Pinta Mundi Tintas chain, the businessman says the focus will be on expansion with quality, structure and profitability. “At Pinta Mundi our goal is to raise the level of paint retailing in Brazil, strengthen the professional training of painters and offer franchisees a solid, profitable and sustainable model,” he concludes.

From newsstand to national franchise

The businessman’s work began at a very young age, as a journalist, a role that preceded his entry into entrepreneurship. Over time, he began to dedicate himself to the paint sector, identifying a large and poorly structured market, especially with regard to store operations and the franchise model. Based on this observation, the development of a more standardized and organized format for the segment began.

The first Pinta Mundi unit was opened in 1991, in São Paulo. Four years later, the second store came into operation and, over the following years, the group consolidated more than six of its own units. In 2017, the franchisor project started and, in 2018, the brand became one of the first paint chains associated with the Brazilian Franchise Association. Currently, the company has more than 50 stores in the country.