Unfolding impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in Asia

Due to economic shocks related to the COVID-19 pandemic, micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) have faced significant hardship. Questions arise; however, regarding the extent to which hardship has varied between sectors and countries over time, whether it is gender neutral, whether digitalization could alleviate it, and whether government support has reached them. Using survey data from eight Asian countries, we found a wide variation in the severity of and responses to the pandemic impacts between sectors and between countries. Turning to common trends, firstly, MSMEs' sales and non-permanent employment tended to recover toward late 2020. Second, women-led enterprises remained vulnerable, exhibiting bleak prospects for sales or more job cuts than men-led enterprises. Third, the intensity of digitalization had a nonlinear relationship with sales and employment. Lastly, the number of MSMEs receiving support from their governments increased, but such support could have more effectively reached the most vulnerable MSMEs.