1Research Scholar, Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar
The study examines the impact of COVID-19 on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Gujarat and evaluates the effectiveness of government support measures during the crisis across key operational and financial dimensions.
A structured questionnaire specifically for Micro, Small, and Medium enterprise (MSMEs) was developed to gather the primary data and a cross-sectional descriptive study was undertaken. Secondary data were obtained from RBI, SIDBI and MSME annual reports.
A Total of 56 MSMEs were contacted to collect primary data.
About 58% of MSMEs reported moderate impact, while 5% were unaffected. Micro and small enterprises faced greater difficulty accessing government assistance and relied more on informal finance. Only 3% found government assistance very easy to obtain, while 51% considered the process neither easy nor difficult. Major challenges included finance constraints, supply-chain disruptions, labour shortages, reduced productivity and limited market access.
The study provides insights for entrepreneurs, policymakers and financial institutions to strengthen MSME resilience, digital capabilities, financial sustainability and crisis preparedness.
The study provides an enterprise-level assessment of COVID-19’s effects on MSMEs in Gujarat, including production, sales, employment, finance, supply chains, working capital and business continuity, while examining government interventions and enterprise-level coping strategies.
MSMEs, COVID-19, Finance, Business, Growth, M10, M13, M38
