Government Assistance
A vast majority (94,7%) of respondents testifed that they never received any government support to combat COVID-19 economic downturn. The few respondents who received government aid, reported meager amounts (equivalent of 40$ to 50$ in local currency. Also among those, some received delays in rental payment.
Challenges facing African SMEs
The program application attempts to trace the challenges faced by African SMEs, with a specifc focus on how these SMEs perceive those particular challenges in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Respondents were asked to rank the challenges they faced and encountered before the COVID-19 pandemic and those they encountered during and post the COVID-19 pandemic. The respondents were asked to choose a facial expression among 3 available for each suggested challenge. 😊 indicating no challenge 😐 indicating an average challenge ☹ indicating a difcult to handle challenge. The challenges were collected from a literature review addressing challenges faced by African SMEs. An “others” challenge was suggested to applicants to capture other possible challenges.
Figure 3.14: The most dissatisfying elements for African businesses remain almost the same during and post pandemic and these are, Government support, Access to Finance, and Taxes.
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