Impact Of Covid-19 On Nigerian Businesses

The world is still grappling with the rapid outbreak of Covid-19 which presents an alarming health crisis. The novel Coronavirus which was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) traced back to Wuhan province of China. The virus started spreading like wildfire to every part of the world. The virus has been categorized as infectious and highly contagious by health experts and as a result, WHO and Governments alike have advised its citizens to continuously practice safe hygiene by washing hands with soap & water, as well as using an alcohol-based sanitizer.

The number of new infection and deaths continue to rise rapidly. About 4.23 million people have been infected globally with Nigeria having about 4,78/ confirmed cases as at today, 959 recovered cases and 158 death respectively according to NCDC with Lagos, Kano, and Abuja recording the highest cases.

In order to curtail the widespread of this deadly virus, the Nation went on a 5-week compulsory lockdown restricting movements within states and across borders. Businesses were not left out as shopping malls and offices were all shut down and workers asked to work from homes. The lockdown directive led to the shutdown of many businesses including those that cannot be operated from homes. However, the crippling effect on these businesses far outweighs the gains.

Looking at the most affected business is Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises at the forefront. The MSMEs will be most hit by the pandemic because they rely heavily on daily cashflow transactions to sustain their businesses. They practically have no savings as about 75% of their income is plowed back into the business. The most risk MSMEs are those that deal in perishable goods. Think of a farmer who suddenly couldn’t afford continue reading...