Small businesses seek help from Government

Small business operators are calling on the Government to implement policies to help shield them from the increasing cost of doing business, remove bureaucracy, and make it easier for them to trade online and access financing options.

Their request comes as they report that they are still struggling to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

A recent survey conducted by the Small Business Association (SBA) showed that 78 per cent of micro and small businesses were yet to recover from the pandemic which started to affect the island in March 2020.

Giving a sneak peak into the latest quarterly survey, which was carried out between November and December last year, Chief Executive Officer of the Small Business Association (SBA) DR Lynette Holder told Barbados TODAY she was concerned that issues plaguing the sector up to 2019 remained unresolved as it emerged from the pandemic.

“We still have a number of the issues that we faced coming into COVID, and now as we look to emerge from it we are still seeing a number of the same issues affecting the small business sector,” she said.

“We still need to focus on the financing options available to the sector, we still have to focus on reducing government bureaucracy and improving business facilitation. The issues are the same.”

Holder explained that respondents cited the need for improved access to financing options as their number one concern. This was followed by the need for improved global market access and policies to encourage greater use of technology to do trade.

“The fact is that these small firms are saying you want to encourage business innovation within the sector but it is still proving to be an inhibitor for them to be able to trade especially in overseas markets,” said the SBA CEO.

She explained that many of the small firms were forced to use payment services that were very costly when they were doing online trade.

Holder said that while she acknowledged the cost of doing business was increasing globally, she believed the Government has power to put policies in place to help shield the sector.

“We must have domestic policies that will help to cushion us as much as possible. We must be able to cushion the blow for small firms even more so, recognising what is happening on the global scene,” she insisted.

Holder said those surveyed said the increased costs coupled with a decline in consumer spending have had a major impact on their operations.

“Small firms don’t have any significant profit margins or room to cushion themselves. To maintain that increase in doing business, many times they have to pass it on and when they pass it on it means that it is going to make you uncompetitive and they are already suffering from reduced sales,” she explained.

“I keep making this point that we have to look at our policies because we need policies that will enable business not hinder business. We have an increased cost worldwide but that does not mean then that we can’t have domestic policies.”

In relation to government bureaucracy, Holder said micro and small businesses still have a challenge in communicating with various government departments and getting timely information and responses. “Those who have to apply for licences, for example, we have seen some improvements but overall, Government is still not operating with the speed required to improve doing business,” she asserted.

Holder said of the sample size of 100 micro and small firms across 11 parishes, only 22 per cent of them said they had fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“That means 78 per cent said that they had not recovered from COVID and they were still very much struggling,” said Holder.

She said further analysis showed that of that 78 per cent, 24 per cent had recovered up to about 75 per cent from the pandemic, while 33 per cent said they had recovered about 50 per cent.

“Then we had another 14 per cent who felt they were at 25 per cent recovered and a 12 per cent that said their business was actually worse off now, and then a further 17 per cent said the business was still at the same as pre-COVID,” Holder reported.

Respondents were also asked to share their thoughts on the planned pension reform, with the majority of them (80 per cent) saying they did not agree the retirement age should increase beyond 70 years.

Holder noted that 40 per cent of them were comfortable with it remaining at age 67 and another 40 per cent said it should be lowered to age 65.

marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb