The major economies of the region, Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico, are stable and growing, but also saturated with business supplier competition -- most companies are chasing the same 500-1000 large clients in each country. As most sectors continue to consolidate, the list of large clients will shrink even further. Future growth must therefore come from small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs), that oft-ignored segment of the B2B market.

SMEs can be roughly divided into three sub-categories: micro, small and medium. Mexico's statistical department, INEGI, uses Table 1 to size Mexican firms.