ABSTRACT
Micro and small enterprises are an important source of employment in underdeveloped economies, functioning as mitigating agents of the economic effects of major crises. However, one of the most marked constraints that prevents them from growing and developing is limited access to finance. This article analyzes the sources of short-term financing used by micro and small family businesses in the garment sector of Barranquilla – Colombia. The study is descriptive, field, non-experimental, and the source of information is a questionnaire of 27 items, applied to owners and / or managers of 93 family establishments affiliated to the Chamber of Commerce of Barranquilla. The results show that these productive units manage very precarious short-term financing schemes, since to maintain daily operations they resort to their own funds, as well as family and friends. As a next option, they show preferences for funds from informal lenders, which are very onerous and represent a financial burden that prevents them from growing. To a lesser extent, they make use of business credit and bank credit. It is concluded that in general terms the sector remains in subsistence conditions and without possibilities to expand productive capacity through investments in capital goods, given that it does not have the necessary funds and guarantees required to finance its expansion. Finally, under the scenario of the COVID-19 pandemic, a situation of reduction in the size of the sector is configured. © 2022, Universidad del Zulia. All rights reserved.