Our efforts to track the fortunes of micro and small businesses in the COVID-19 environment between May and August have led us to the discovery that small businesses run by women and young business persons are being hit hardest by the fallout from the pandemic.
The constraints on trading arising out of the lockdown and curfew measures instituted to contain the spread of the virus and which have resulted in supply chain disruptions and significantly reduced demand in several sectors are really only part of the problem. If small businesses are to continue playing their crucial role in job-creation and improving lives and livelihoods, they must depend, increasingly, on an enabling business environment including, in cases of countries like Guyana, support for access to finance, information, and markets. These have not been sufficiently forthcoming here, notwithstanding the fact that these enterprises are the backbone of many households here. Data provided by the International Council for Small Business (ICSB) indicate that micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises comprise over 90% of all firms and account, on average, for 70% of total employment and 50% of GDP.
