The pace of new business openings in Criciúma has established an accelerating trajectory that places the municipality above state and national averages. Consolidated indicators from the Federal Revenue Service show that the city registered the opening of 5,407 new companies in the first half of 2026. 

This volume represents a leap of 21.7% compared to the same period last year, when 4,441 openings were recorded, surpassing the average growth of Santa Catarina, which ended the period at 14%.

The quantitative advance results in a positive net balance of 2,674 active businesses in the city from January to June of this year, as 2,733 closures were accounted for. The local indicator represents an evolution of 20.2% over the balance of the first half of 2025, when the municipality ended the period with 2,225 more companies. 

In the segment of new ventures that do not qualify as Individual Microentrepreneurs (MEI), the city recorded 1,262 openings and 791 closures, generating a positive balance of 471 corporations.

"The indicators reflect a favorable environment for entrepreneurship in the municipality. We had practically two companies opened for each one closed in the first half. There are more businesses, more income circulation, and new opportunities," declared the mayor of Criciúma, Vagner Espíndola, in an official statement released by the Municipal Government's press office on July 22, 2026.

This proliferation of new CNPJs coincides with a structural change in the local economy, historically tied to large base industries. In an analysis broadcast on April 23, 2026, by Rádio Cidade em Dia, the Secretary of Economic Development, Industry, Commerce, and Services, Thiago Rocha Fabris, indicated that the ceramic industry, a traditional pillar of Criciúma's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), shows signs of inflection and deceleration.

"We have noticed that the economic profile is changing. Sectors such as technology and service provision are gaining space that was previously predominantly occupied by ceramics and coal," Fabris stated to the broadcaster.

For the president of the Criciúma Business Association (Acic), Gilberto Francisco Hobold, the consolidation of Criciúma as a hub for services and technology is closely monitored by the productive sector, which believes that the evolution meets broad market transformations. 

"With the advancement of technology in various areas of the economy, including industry and commerce, there is a greater demand for service providers, especially in automation and technology. This is no different in Criciúma. Our city is a regional hub, and the trend is to become increasingly a technological hub as well," said the president.

The practical reflection of this ecosystem directly impacts local businesses in accelerated expansion. This is the case of the information technology startup Next Fit, based in the municipality and now a national leader in sports management software. Founded in Criciúma by Douglas Waltricke, the company surpassed the mark of 18,000 clients in the country in 2026 and exemplifies the retention of intellectual capital in the region. 

For the president of Acic, the bureaucratic simplification promoted by the municipality acts as a competitive differential. "Criciúma is recognized as an accessible city for doing business and is quick in addressing demands for company openings. This makes a difference for entrepreneurs when deciding to invest," added the business representative.

Sustainability in the CFA Governance Index

The sustainability of this agile ecosystem finds methodological support in the Municipal Governance Index (IGM-CFA), a tool developed by the Federal Administration Council to diagnose the dimensions of finance, management, and performance in Brazilian cities. 

By crossing the analytical data from the council with local reality, it is evident that Criciúma's consistency lies in its high capacity for self-investment and strict control of operational expenses.

At the Municipality's City Hall, business expansion has ceased to be an isolated statistical data point and has become the main success metric of the Economic Development Axis of the Criciúma+ program, a digital goal platform launched at the 100-day mark of the governmental management. 

The system monitors whether the promises of simplifying permits and automating processes are having practical effects on the ground, translating the technical guidelines of the IGM-CFA into local performance goals.

In the administrative design, the monitoring of the project portfolio is the responsibility of a Project Management Office (PMO) linked to the Planning and Strategy Directorate. The structure uses tools such as the adapted Balanced Scorecard (BSC) and SWOT matrices to monitor the progress of 272 initiatives divided into five development axes, ensuring that economic growth is supported by institutional efficiency.

"Every project has a cost, has a time, and the office precisely monitors this to identify bottlenecks and expedite processes, seeking greater agility in delivering results," says Tiago Pavan, Municipal Secretary of Governance. 

In the organizational chart, specialized technicians serve as focal points to ensure that the guidelines for digital bureaucratic simplification are reflected in the actual timelines for company approvals at the Entrepreneur's House.

The favorable business environment runs parallel to evaluations of institutional control. Criciúma boasts a score of 9.95 from the Federal Comptroller General (CGU) and the diamond seal from the Association of State Courts of Accounts (Atricon), ranking among the ten most transparent cities in the country. 

By linking the surge of new CNPJs to the capacity for process management and the quality parameters of the IGM-CFA, the city demonstrates that the sustainability of economic growth in medium-sized municipalities directly depends on the methodological rigor in the execution of public goals.

Text: Marcela Vitoria Barrozo da Costa