How biometrics, artificial intelligence and blockchain could trigger the boom of Mexican microentrepreneurs

In a country like Mexico, where it is calculated that the number of micro, small and medium establishments is 99.8% of the establishments of the private and parastatal sector registered in the 2019 Economic Censuses of the National Institute of Statistics, Geography and Informatics (INEGI) 1 , it is essential to pay more attention to the latter, their needs and their challenges, since they constitute the catalyst for the economy, especially in times like today, in which the world economy suffers one of its greatest historical setbacks. One of the main aspects to pay attention to is precisely the little or no formal relationship they have with the financial system, which in turn prevents them from accessing products that would enable growth, jobs and economic spillover. These products range from insurance and credit to corporate accounts that make them more reliable to their consumers. Who and how are these microentrepreneurs? We call micro-entrepreneurship the low-investment economic activity that one or more entrepreneurs carry out, where generally there are no employees since the entrepreneurs themselves carry out the tasks necessary for the business, based on their own knowledge or skills. Of these micro-enterprises are carried out directly at home and, generally, alone, it is also common for entrepreneurs to concentrate on the realization and quality of the product or service, leaving their formality as a company in a secondary place. And this is the turning point that the permanence or not of a microenterprise may mean, since in the long run it will directly impact consumer confidence, which is intensified in a national scenario in which SMEs have a life expectancy of between five and ten years, according to the exercise "Life expectancy of businesses in Mexico", of the INEGI.

‍

One of the distinctive features of this sector is that it is born and developed digitally: it promotes its products, obtains clients, closes alliances and carries out transactions remotely, through social networks or applications. The relationship with each of the actors that make its existence and success possible can be put at risk if they do not perceive that their data is protected and that they can have confidence in carrying out online transactions.This is the golden opportunity for banks and the financial system in general, since being more robust entities and with a tradition of managing large digital transformation projects, they can become the enabler of microentrepreneurs, for example, for digital identity, a high security biometric solution to protect and share identity online and that, gradually, can become a factor that makes a difference in the course of the business since it will play a relevant role in customer loyalty.Biometrics, artificial intelligence and blockchain are the technologies behind solutions such as digital identity since they provide , precisely, all the security elements that a user needs to deliver their data, a step that is essential in transactions in the digital world In a larger scenario, not having a digital identity is something that can exclude multiple players because, for regulatory reasons around the world, it will begin to become a standard, so that consolidate and become as basic an element as our passport or our voter's credential is today.

But this will not come true if it is not shown that security and privacy are 100% guaranteed, which is decisive for the development of the entire ecosystem, whether on its economic, financial or social side, that is, for the integral growth as individuals and as a society 1. https://www.inegi.org.mx/contenidos/saladeprensa/boletines/2021/OtrTemEcon/EDN2020.pdf

‍