Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Sustainable Post-COVID Global Economic Recovery

The recent Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has created economic hardships for all types of businesses throughout the world. Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) seem to have been hit the hardest because of their inability or inflexibility to withstand such prolonged and worldwide shocks. Since SMEs employ the largest workforce in all the countries of the world, a faster and sustainable global economic recovery will largely depend on the quick revival of the SMEs. This chapter explores the strategies adopted by different countries to help SMEs survive the economic debacle and revive their economic growth engines with a focus on Asia. The key objectives of the chapter are to identify (1) the various policy options and stimulus tools that seem to have benefited the SMEs, and (2) additional incentives, steps, and strategies required to accelerate the recovery of the SMEs. Accordingly, the study summarizes the various strategies and policies put into practice during the ongoing pandemic by the countries to stimulate the SMEs and identifies which of these strategies seemed to have been successful. In addition, the chapter looks into the areas where existing strategies do not seem to bring the expected results. Finally, it proposes additional policy measures and strategies that can be considered for a faster and sustainable recovery of the SMEs in Asia.