Business Report writes that according to a study released on Wednesday, about 55,000 small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) will not survive the Covid-19 pandemic, resulting in more than 42,000 jobs being decimated.
The study, by 22 on Sloane, surveyed 120 respondents between 23 and 28 March and 28, and revealed that 11% of them did not see their businesses surviving during the national lockdown. At the time of the survey the lockdown was expected to be 21 days, but it has since been extended by a further two weeks. The sample included business owners aged between 31 and 40, with 83% of them located in Gauteng, mainly in the retail, consulting, ICT and media sectors. The report indicated: “If we consider a report by the Small Business Institute, which claims that South Africa has a quarter-of-a-million formal SMMEs, there could potentially be 55,000 SMMEs who do not survive this pandemic.” Of the 11% of the SMMEs that did not see their businesses surviving, 77% of them employed between one and 10 people. “This means that at least 42,350 working for the SMMEs … could lose their jobs as a direct result of Covid-19,” the report indicated. Kizito Okechukwu, executive head of 22 on Sloane, said on Wednesday that the Unemployment Insurance Fund’s R40bn Covid-19 intervention would go a long way to alleviating the plight of small businesses.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Dinei Faku at Business Report
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