IMPACTS OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC LOCKDOWN ON MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES IN NIGERIAN SOUTH-WEST
Olusola Olasupo, PhD, Olayide I. Oladeji, PhD and Rachael Ifeoluwa Olasupo
Volume 3 Issue 2
Abstract
It is clear that the COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted the global economy and is still wreaking havoc on business operations. The hardest hurt is micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. This study explicitly evaluates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the performance of MSMEs in the Nigerian Southwest and offers ideas on how their businesses can develop and function successfully in the face of the pandemic's multiple hurdles as well as the country's deteriorating economy. The study used both qualitative and quantitative research methods. A structured questionnaire was adopted to collect data from 175 respondents who were dispersed around the study area. Personal interviews with business owners, and focus group discussions (FGDs) among employees of MSMEs who were specifically chosen in the study area to provide insight into the impacts of the COVID-19 epidemic on their MSMEs were also adopted. The outcomes from the study revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic's impacts involve: a decrease in supplies of raw materials, lack of operational capital, reduced sales, trading at a loss, lack of qualified employees due to a decline in staff wages, failure to pay salaries, repay loans and rent, small earnings or revenue generation, shortage of customers, and absence of genuineness in the effort of the government to mitigate the severity of the pandemic. The study recommends that government implement well-monitored and organized relief schemes, programmes that minimize hardship, lower interest rates, loosen credit requirements, and postpone tax payments. Keywords: COVID-19, Pandemic, Lockdown, Business Performance, MSMEs, Southwestern Nigeria.
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