Latin American SMEs play a similar role in the economy as other SMEs worldwide, but possess distinctive characteristics to those in OECD countries. However, despite differences in the entrepreneurial environment and the innovation framework in Latin America, most of the best policy practices and lessons learned in industrialized countries can be applied to Latin American countries such as Brazil, Chile, and Mexico.

This document builds on two main information sources: the survey on Dynamic Entrepreneurs (2002) and the subsequent reports on Entrepreneurship in East Asia and Latin America, on Entrepreneurial Development, and the report on six case studies for
high-growth SMEs (2007/2008). This initial approach confirms that the process of acquiring knowledge is a global phenomenon, whereas the protection of intellectual assets is weak and insufficient.