Factors that Affect Small and Medium-Sized Businesses Entrepreneurs During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Malaysia

The Coronavirus pandemic is the newest calamity to befall all economic sectors in every country and caused several countries initiating travel bans and movement constraints. According to SME Corporation 2020, almost 98.5% of Malaysian businesses affected during the COVID-19. Moreover, some entrepreneurs are experiencing business cancellations or closures and revenues reductions due to the shutdown of certain support subdivisions such as transportation as well as stores. Although, there is limited studies in relation to the pandemic’s impact on small and medium entrepreneurs in developing countries especially related to the business strategies to survival and retrieval strategies. It is essential to evaluate how entrepreneurs are enduring a crisis and what decisions that they need to make to survive. Furthermore, a strategy needs to be crafted to support business sustainability. Thus, this conceptual paper will describe the factors that affect small and medium-size businesses entrepreneurs throughout the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia and provide policy recommendations to help businesses in reducing business losses.