How Critical was the COVID-19 Pandemic? Exploring The Effects on Small Business Finance

Abstract

A plethora of obstacles frequently confront small business enterprises. Still, many business owners were caught off guard by the unexpected COVID-19 outbreak. This research is a survey of small businesses in the city of Jos, Nigeria. The objective is to determine the financial exposure of small businesses to the COVID-19 epidemic. We obtained primary data from respondents using Likert scale questionnaires. Descriptive analysis was used to address the study questions with the data collected. Our findings showed that liquidity was the worst-hit aspect of business finance. This was closely followed by profitability, while debt management was the least impacted of the three domains. The theoretical argument of the study suggests a pragmatic approach to assessing how external environmental factors affect business entities. The authors recommend that business owners should make concerted efforts to get a financial education.