Women buy clothes in a store, in downtown Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Sept. 14, 2015. (Xinhua/Rahel Patrasso)

PANAMA CITY, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Experts on small and medium-enterprises (SMEs) agreed Tuesday that a lack of productivity was the major weakness facing such companies in Latin America.

During a meeting held to hear the results of a sweeping investigation into the state of SMEs in the region, named Simapro, it was announced that 95 to 97 percent of economic entities in Latin America are SMEs. However, they are held back from fulfilling their potential due to a breach in productivity and informality.

Maria Dolores Correa, general director of the Simapro project, said this often led SMEs to close as they are unable to withstand market pressures. Furthermore, she estimated that SMEs in the region were only half as productive as their larger counterparts.

The Simapro project was organized by iCam Group, a Mexican company which has worked to develop SMEs in Latin America for 14 years. Simapro also helps to train SMEs on improving productivity, work conditions, sustainability, and skills.

A stallholder weighs traditional corn tortillas in Mexico Cty, on June 18, 2008. (Xinhua/AFP)

Correa advised that SMEs all too often do not have the know-how to run their businesses, and that specific actions are needed to help them structure themselves better and access key indicators.

In order to change this situation, Correa announced that iCam would be allying itself with ConnecTAmericas, a financing platform for SMEs financed by the Inter-American Development Bank.

"They have a deep interest in working with companies which have graduated from Simapro," she stated.

Correa said that, out of 20 Panamanian SMEs engaged in Simapro, 19 had graduated and shown clear results in improving their productivity and working conditions.

"The results have shown the positive financial impact of our project, generating additional income and savings for these companies of over 200,000 U.S. dollars," she concluded.