- The report is the second comprehensive survey on the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impact across Africa.
- The report is largely based on online survey, which was conducted from June 16 to July 20 to provide insights into the impact of the pandemic on economic activity for businesses across Africa
A new report published jointly by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the International Economics Consulting Ltd points out that the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed African businesses towards new technologies. The report is the second comprehensive survey on the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impact across Africa.
The report is largely based on online survey, which was conducted from June 16 to July 20 to provide insights into the impact of the pandemic on economic activity for businesses across Africa, including the challenges African businesses encountered as well as their responses to mitigate the adverse impact of the pandemic.
The report has identified the top three challenges faced by African companies in the wake of the ongoing pandemic. These are lesser opportunities to meet new customers, fall in demand for products and services, as well as cash crunch. The report added that companies faced serious disruptions in both supply and market due to COVID-19. Unfair pricing was regarded as a major challenge, while government assistance was met with a mixed response varying from moderate to no satisfaction.
The report projected revenues to drop by about 18 percent in 2020, as compared to 2019, and lay-offs to increase by 20 percent in the next three months as most of the companies were working at half of their capacity. For Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), the remote working options proved more challenging especially for those dealing with goods and services whose performance has been relatively more negatively affected than larger-sized companies. One major positive development highlighted by the survey is  that two-thirds of the surveyed companies indicated that they have identified new opportunities in response to the crisis.
