Govt schemes did not help sustain our businesses says 50% of MSME respondents: MSMEx Online Survey

Mumbai, 17 Dec (KNN) As per an online survey conducted by MSMEx to gauge the impact of covid-19 pandemic on MSME sector, over 70% of MSMEs confirmed that their business suffered a devastating impact in the aftermath of the second wave.

The survey comprised of 150 MSMEs spread across India, as published in ET.

Almost 50 per cent MSMEs said that they haven’t fully recovered from the effect of second wave, while 43 per cent said they altered their business model to survive.

In view of the adjustments they had to make in their businesses, 56% respondents said they had no choice but adopt digitalisation for marketing and payments, while 38% said they concentrated on improving their customer relations.

Additional financial aid to support their business was required by 35% respondents, while 34% said they had to transfer to a remote working model.

Commenting in the survey, Amit Kumar, CEO and Co-Founder MSMEx  said, “Our goal was to identify the depth of the pandemic’s impact on India’s MSME sector, and how we could mitigate this and address their problems before another wave hits us. The small businesses we surveyed have shown tremendous resilience and adaptability to survive. Our observation is that businesses with asset-light models, or those who altered their business models with ease to reduce the cash drain have survived the lockdowns.”

To understand the help government schemes and initiatives actually reached MSMEs, 50% of the respondents said that the schemes did not help them in sustaining their business through the pandemic. Only 18% of the respondents found government schemes to be supportive, while 42% of the respondents said they took financial help from friends and family.

Government support in the form of lower input costs has been demanded by 35 per cent, while 36 per cent of MSMEs surveyed were dealing with stress due to the unforeseen disruption, underlining the importance of mental health and business coaching and mentorship for running a successful business.