Home ›› 18 Nov 2021 ›› Opinion
Since the pandemic hit the world, life has been different for everyone. Especially for businesses around the world, the ride has been a bumpy one. The heavy blow dealt by the pandemic has brought many businesses down on its knees, with many companies shutting down its operations permanently and laying-off its employees in the face of huge losses. The impact has been felt worldwide and the developing countries suddenly found themselves caught between the devil and the deep blue sea as the onslaught of the coronavirus was abrupt. As far as Bangladesh is concerned, our businesses have also had their fair share of tension and loss. To be particular, the pandemic has been a very tough time for our small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as most of them could not overcome the gloomy economic prognosis thrust upon them by the unprecedented situation created by the coronavirus.
According to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), there are around 78 lakh SMEs in Bangladesh and 25 million workers are directly or indirectly involved with the SME sector. This sector was doing well before the pandemic as many people, including rural women, were getting involved in this sector and earning money. But, after the advent of the coronavirus, the scenario changed for the worse. Small and medium entrepreneurs struggled heavily to get orders and earn the bare minimum to stay afloat. This has resulted in not only financial burden, but also compounded unemployment crisis.
A survey was conducted by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) in 2020 to estimate the extent of damage small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have suffered and the loss incurred by them during the pandemic. According to the findings of the survey, SME sector incurred a loss of around Tk 92,000 crore in just two months since the outbreak of the virus. According to another report by Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), an overall decrease of about 66 per cent (FY2019-20) in revenue has been recorded by the SME sector last year.
After almost one and a half years, it is evident that the virus is here to stay and the businesses have to devise new strategies in order to cope with the changed realities. Small and medium enterprises will have to follow the same path. Gone are the days when businesses followed the same traditional approach to make money. The world has evolved after the pandemic, so have the ways of doing business. Business entities are going for changed policies and strategies in accordance with the changed realities to experience economic recovery. Our SME sector also needs to adopt and evolve if they want to have a quick rebound.
First, small and medium enterprises must embrace technological amenities and ramp up their business models. As many small entrepreneurs run their operations from rural areas, they faced different problems such as logistics problem, delivery issues and other infrastructural problems owing to the pandemic. The only way to get over this crisis is tapping into different technological innovations. There are now many solutions offered by the telcos and ICT infrastructure providers, which can literally help you keep track of the whole process – from handling over the parcel to the deliverymen to receiving payment from the customers. SMEs need to explore these options and make their operations more functional. Such upgradation can help them get more orders as most of the people are now resorting to easy and convenient way of shopping.
Second, SMEs should tap into other potential sources to scale up their productions and sale rates. For example – entrepreneurs should explore different channels. Online marketplaces could be a good source in this regard. As only Facebook-based marketing policy is not now enough, entrepreneurs can collaborate with different online marketplaces and put their products on display on those sites. It will definitely help them reach more customers. Along with their self-developed marketing channels, the particular e-commerce entity they will be collaborating with will also lend a hand to them for reaching their potential customers and increasing sales. Such mutual initiatives could bear fruits for the SME sector. As customers’ habit has changed drastically after the pandemic, people are leaning towards online marketplaces. So, small and medium businesses must take this changed consumer behavior into account and devise plans accordingly.
Last but not least, developing a complete infrastructure to ensure full operational capacity has turned into a must-have for the entrepreneurs to thrive in this digitized world. When a business depends on other stakeholders for logistic support, it often causes disruptions in the whole operation, which may in the long run could be a cause of concern. This was also experienced by our SME sector as many of them did not have their own delivery system. As a result, they could not run their operations during lockdowns, putting the future of their businesses in jeopardy. That’s why, businesses should now focus on developing their own infrastructural design so that full operational capacity and efficiency can be maintained despite the odds.
The pandemic has transformed the ways of doing businesses forever. At the same time, digital transformation has shown us the way forward. Small and medium entrepreneurs will have to utilize the modern amenities offered by the digital world and morph their business models accordingly. Only then, they will be able to survive any adversity riding out the uncertainties. If the SMEs want to turn the tables in favor of them and come roaring back, entrepreneurs will have to keep tabs on the changes and innovations underway in the world and keep evolving by constantly adapting to the changes.
The writer is a communications professional
