Impact of Coronavirus (Covid-19) Pandemic on Small and Medium Businesses in Edo State

摘要

The study assessed the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on business in Edo State, Nigeria. It determined the effect of the pandemic lockdown on sales volume, cash flow and profit margin of small and medium business owners amidst covid-19. 1119 business operators constituted the study population and a sample size of 235 respondents were purposively selected. Four research questions gave focus to the study. A 40-item structured questionnaire was used to elicit information from the respondents. The descriptive survey research design gave credence to the study. A reliability coefficient value of 0.79 was obtained with the use of Cronbach Alpha formula. The research questions were answered with mean and respondents’ homogeneity determined with standard deviation. The result of the findings revealed that COVID-19 impacted negatively on sales volume, business cash flow and profit margin. It was concluded that Covid-19 as an unforeseen circumstances that was contingent truncated business growth and rendered many liquidated. It was therefore recommended that business owners should engage in more online business transaction to increase sales volume, facilitate increased steady cash flow and maximize profit amidst Covid-19 as well as develop other strategies to enable their massive savings to surmount crises that could be contingent and inimical to their businesses.