The Impact of COVID-19 on the Small and Medium Enterprises in Developing Countries - The Case of Malawi
Mbewe, Tadziwana Wilfred (2025)
2025
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202502112649
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202502112649
Tiivistelmä
COVID-19 has caused unprecedented disruptions among (micro) small and medium enterprises (SMEs or MSMEs) in developing countries like Malawi. Guided by the definition of SMEs – which is dependent on specific country context – this study will concentrate on SMEs considering a wide range of definitions globally and narrowing it down to Malawi.
Although the predicted massive deaths due to COVID-19 never came to pass in most developing nations, the restrictions and measures put in place to avoid further spread of COVID-19 impacted on the SMEs greatly.
The researcher looked at impact of COVID-19 on SMEs in Lilongwe, the capital city of Malawi using quantitative method.
The study confirmed that the SMEs were affected heavily by COVID-19 which resulted into low sales for a long period; the SMEs employed some methods to survive COVID 19, and most respondents acknowledged that there was need to come up with the new strategies to survive future pandemics. Although the respondents were aware of the interventions put in place to help SMEs cope with COVID-19, not all of them benefitted from such interventions.
Although the predicted massive deaths due to COVID-19 never came to pass in most developing nations, the restrictions and measures put in place to avoid further spread of COVID-19 impacted on the SMEs greatly.
The researcher looked at impact of COVID-19 on SMEs in Lilongwe, the capital city of Malawi using quantitative method.
The study confirmed that the SMEs were affected heavily by COVID-19 which resulted into low sales for a long period; the SMEs employed some methods to survive COVID 19, and most respondents acknowledged that there was need to come up with the new strategies to survive future pandemics. Although the respondents were aware of the interventions put in place to help SMEs cope with COVID-19, not all of them benefitted from such interventions.