Impact of COVID-19 on SMEs and employment

Abstract

COVID-19 is a highly infectious disease-causing serious health hazards and fatalities to humans around the world. The objective of this paper is to identify how COVID-19 caused immense failures to society, particularly Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the hospitality and tourism sectors which provide employment to many people. A literature review examined how preventive measures to control COVID-19 devastated businesses. The review highlighted particular interest to workforce, supply chain and cash flow of SMEs. This research addressed the gap in understanding what and how business was affected as seen by business owners. This research used phenomenology to study businesses crippled by the pandemic. Interviews were conducted with several business owners using a set of unstructured guiding questions. Verbal responses from the participants were transcribed to textual data and analyzed thematically. The results constructed a generalized perception of SME business owners and identified themes reflecting the business individual, the business, and business survival. Importantly, the study revealed several government actions are needed to support surviving businesses and revive lost businesses, specifically, in the form of stimulus funds, moratoriums, extended loans and waivers of interest.