The Impact of Covid-19 on Small and Medium Enterprises in Bangladesh
1College of Asia Pacific Management, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU), Japan
2Department of Business Management, Nizwa University, Oman
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed:
E-mail: helal.uddin.example@university.edu (HU)
E-mail: helal.uddin.example@university.edu (HU)
Received: November 09, 2024 | Revised: April 20, 2025 | Accepted: May 06, 2025 | Published: June 2025
Abstract
The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted the world economy in multifaceted ways. Although large businesses had some cushions to tackle the adverse impact of the pandemic, small, and medium enterprises (SMEs) suffered miserably. This paper seeks to examine the impact of the Covid-19 on SMEs in Bangladesh. Data has been collected through issuing a semi-structured questionnaire from 306 SMEs. We apply graphical presentation, descriptive statistics, and regression techniques to analyze the data. The major findings of the paper are as follows: (i) 87 percent of the SMEs reported a decline in sales; (ii) 92% of the SMEs reported that their production was disrupted owing to the problems with the supply chain; (iii) SMEs were successful in recovery to a significant extent; (iv) about 70% of the surveyed firms terminated employees during the pandemic, and more than half (54%) of the SMEs fired fewer than five employees; (v) an astounding number of firms (92%) canceled scheduled investments due to the pandemic; and (vi) 74% of the surveyed SMEs sought direct assistance from the government. Our regression analysis further reveals that SMEs which shifted business online, had large number of employees (big in size), and with enough liquidity cushion encountered a lower decline in income. However, firms that fired employees suffered heavily in terms of a decline in income. Based on the above findings, the research concludes that the SMEs in Bangladesh suffered a decline in sales significantly and experienced supply chain disruption during the Covid-19 pandemic. The research thus, recommends government intervention through fiscal and monetary means to reinvigorate the SME sector of the country.
Keywords
productivity ; Bangladesh ; Covid-19 ; Pandemic ; Micro ; Small and Medium Enterprise
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