India's medium, small and micro enterprises (MSMEs) have shown better resilience during the second wave of COVID-19 as their businesses, on an average, declined by only 11% compared with almost half (46%) after the national lockdown in 2020, as per a study.
A 2021 mid-year COVID-impact analysis, released by fintech start-up Khatabook on Wednesday, however, said the MSME segment was yet to recover to the pre-COVID levels of March 2020.
According to the analysis, tier 1 and 2 cities experienced slightly less business impact of the pandemic during the second wave compared with metros, tier 3 and tier 4 towns. Also, large businesses were more sensitive towards the pandemic-induced restrictions than medium and small businesses, it found.
MSME systems in Uttarakhand, Kerala, and Madhya Pradesh were the most impacted in 2021 while that in Jharkhand, Telangana, and Bihar were least impacted. Between January 2020 and June 2021, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi and Andhra Pradesh and Telangana exchanged the highest interstate trade with each other.
The COVID-impact analysis was done based on the cash flow activities of the MSME ecosystem represented by the Khatabook app.
Ravish Naresh, Co-founder and CEO, Khatabook said "The MSME segment is showcasing a definite learning curve with their usage behavior of digital platforms, indicating increased proficiency with digital solutions.''
ends