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Joint Journal of Novel Carbon Resource Sciences and Green Asia Strategy

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The Impact of Covid-19 on Small and Medium Enterprises in Bangladesh

Helal Uddin1,*, Mohammad Usman2
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)
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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  64. 64) In which industry or sector, you operate your business? Please tick one
  65. 65) How many employees does your company have? Please tick one
  66. 66) Does your business already feel repercussions due to the COVID-19 outbreak? Please tick one
  67. 67) Does your business have an action plan / is well prepared for crisis scenarios of similar scale? Please tick one
  68. 68) Do you expect as a consequence of COVID-19 a loss of sales in products / services in 2020? Please tick one
  69. 69) What is your loss in revenue since the COVID-19 outbreak? Please tick one
  70. 70) What is your expected loss in revenue in the next 2 months due to COVID-19 outbreak? Please tick one
  71. 71) What is the demand for your goods/services compared to last year? Please tick one
  72. 72) Were you forced to dismiss/send home a number of your employees? Please tick one
  73. 73) How many employees you had to layoffs since the COVID-19 outbreak? Please tick one
  74. 74) How many employees you will have to lay off in the next two months due to the COVID-19 outbreak? Please tick one
  75. 75) Were you planning on new employments or accepting apprenticeship before the COVID-19 outbreak? Please tick one
  76. 76) Did you cancel any planned investment in your company's infrastructure and/or production due to the COVID-19 outbreak? Please tick one
  77. 77) If the situation continues/does not improve soon, for how many weeks do you have financial liquidity until you have to stop your business activities or declare bankruptcy? Please tick one
  78. 78) Have you been contacted by your bank in connection with COVID-19? Please tick one
  79. 79) If yes, what was their message? Please tick one
  80. 80) Which support measures do you think are most necessary in the current situation? (you may tick several boxes if necessary)
  81. 81) Please comment on how the above-stated measures will impact the development of your business. Please tick one
  82. 82) Anything else you would like to add or suggest?
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