Abstract
Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the District of San Miguelito, Panama, face accounting, tax compliance, and technology adoption gaps documented in a 2018 historical diagnosis. This qualitative, documentary, descriptive-analytical, and propositive article revisits that diagnosis and triangulates it with a 2026 documentary update to design a university-MSME linkage model applicable to the Regional University Center of San Miguelito. The VUM-5 Model is proposed, structured around five phases —business diagnosis, needs classification, support pathway, transformation and strengthening, and monitoring and evaluation— integrating accounting, tax, and digital management with knowledge transfer and university social responsibility mechanisms. It is concluded that the model constitutes a conceptually pertinent alternative for articulating these actions, whose effectiveness should be assessed through a future pilot application.