This research aims to design a management model for improving the competitiveness of SMEs in Colombia, with emphasis on the analysis of the competitiveness of the Colombian Caribbean region, on the State policies to promote competitiveness in the country and on the management practices implemented by managers of SMEs in each of the seven departments that make up the region. The time frame of this study is constituted by the period 1990-2014. The rationale is systemic based which states that the properties of systems cannot be meaningfully described in terms of their separate elements, but their understanding only occurs when they are studied globally, involving all the interdependencies of their parts. As results, it is identified that very few Colombian SMEs use management models and perform some process of performance evaluation on the management areas, so it is justified the design of a management model for the improvement of competitiveness that optimizes the performance of SMEs in Colombia.