This article analyzes the most representative international financial crises in Colombia since 1990: the Asian crisis of 1997 and the Sub-Prime crisis of 2008 in the United States. Likewise, the impacts and their effects on national production in some Latin American countries are indicated. Finally, it is shown how financial literacy cushions the negative effects on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which are of vital importance in the economy for its contribution to GDP and the generation of formal jobs.