Africa-Press – Mauritius. The second lockdown has exacerbated the distress of most micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME). As a result, the majority of them have had to review various aspects of their operations.
However, 88% of MSMEs managed to stay in operation during the second lockdown ”. This is what reveals a study entitled “Impact of second lockdown on MSMES in Mauritius”, published on Monday, October 11.
“Carried out by SME Mauritius, the main objective of this analysis is to assess the difficulties of companies during the second lockdown. The research was conducted through questionnaires with a sample of 596 micro, small and medium enterprises in various sectors in Mauritius.
The results will help design future interventions based on the needs of MSMEs as well as tailor the support expected from government, ”it says. This document also reports that 89% of the participants did not lay off any employees.
According to this study, the majority of micro, small and medium enterprises have had to review various aspects of their operations. “Regarding business continuity, 88% of those surveyed were active during containment, either on site or teleworking.
The Information and Communication and Education Services sectors seem to have been able to ensure the continuity of their remote services. 2% of those surveyed plan to shut down temporarily or permanently, ”note the study’s authors.
Cash flow issues
“It can also be noted that 93% of those questioned said they had cash flow problems and were in urgent need of external injections of funds to strengthen their recovery capacities.
Another highlight: 12% of participants said they had stopped their operations during the pandemic due to the closure of the Mauritian borders. These mainly come from the hospitality and tourism sectors and a small part of the textile industry. Another finding: 81% of participants said they would need some level of external funding to relaunch their operations, ”the document said.
