Entrepreneurs have been hit hard by the crisis. Surveys show that since the start of the pandemic, globally, 70-80% of SMEs experienced a serious drop in revenues/sales, and over 40% stopped operations altogether in the first wave of the crisis. Firm creation also dropped significantly across many countries, for example, by 70% in Portugal in April compared to a year earlier, and by 54% in France.
As lockdowns return in many countries, these entrepreneurs are once again under huge pressure. This pressure is having a toll financially – but also mentally. A recent survey in New Zealand showed that more than half of small business team members are experiencing increased anxiety due to financial hardship and uncertainty. Earlier in the pandemic, 66% of SME owners in the Netherlands reported they risked burn-out within 6 months.
Yet a world seeking to bounce back from the COVID-19 crisis needs its entrepreneurial spirit more than ever. Our societies need our entrepreneurs to replace lost livelihoods. But we need them to do more than that: we need them to help us renew, not just replace our economy. All entrepreneurs have a role to play – whether rooted in tech or in local services or retail – in founding the new businesses of the future, in creating and adopting digital technologies and in developing and deploying more sustainable business models. And we need to boost their ranks through greater participation in entrepreneurship among women and young, and in left behind regions.
There are reasons to be optimistic. The crisis is offering new opportunities for SMEs. While a sudden drop in demand has disrupted some industries, others grew even faster. Fintech, CleanTech and Energy sectors have the highest employment growth. VC investment in some countries and sectors will break the 2019 record. In many countries, we have recently seen a surge in start-ups. In the US, new business registrations doubled between March and July. Japan’s start-up index rose by more than 50% this year, matching its previous high in 2006.
However, these green shoots of recovery are fragile. National, regional, and local authorities need to put the right policy measures in place to nurture, sustain and direct this entrepreneurial spirit if it is to take root and flourish. An effective response would include a number of features.
First, bold action to meet the financial needs of entrepreneurs unable to operate due to the pandemic. In recognition of this, most countries facing renewed restrictions have already extended emergency support programmes. However, in many cases these measures need to be adapted to take on board lessons learned from the early phases of the crisis. That includes improving targeting: in the initial response, in some countries funding flowed to businesses in sectors less affected by the containment measures while missing vulnerable businesses and groups like the self-employed. With clearer evidence now of the impacts on different sectors and groups, support can be more targeted – and more tailored – to the needs of different sectors and groups.
Second, forward thinking policies that look beyond the crisis and support the recovery. In some cases, an over-reliance on debt instruments without a clear exit strategy risks a large number of firms emerging from the crisis with an unsustainable burden or little capacity to invest for years to come. A pivot where possible to equity instruments rather adding to the burden of debt would help ease this pressure. Equity instruments could also be used to support firms with more ambitious plans to start-up, scale quickly, and lead the recovery with more innovative, more sustainable business models. Cross-border fund structures and investments would provide ability to operate at scale and help firms to make connections to ensure that new firms are born global, particularly tech companies that have survived and thrived during the crisis.
Third, deploying and aligning a broader package of support measures for entrepreneurs. That means putting in place the right training and networks for firms to transition to new business models – including enhanced use of digital tools such as e-commerce and teleworking. It should also include measures to rebuild the confidence and mental strength of entrepreneurs in struggling and failed ventures. We know businesses set up by re-starters grow faster than businesses set up by first timers in terms of turnover and jobs created, and “second chance entrepreneurs” offer one of the best opportunities for a quick recovery.
The time to act is now. Entrepreneurs are already on the march. It is time we rallied round them with the support they need. The prize is a quicker, more sustainable recovery – and the opportunity to work with them to shape a brighter future for us all.
Lamia Kamal-Chaoui is the Director of the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities since 2016.
As a key member of the OECD Executive Leadership team, Ms. Kamal-Chaoui supports the Secretary-General in achieving the OECD’s mission to advance economic growth and social progress as well as contributing to other global agendas such as the G20 and G7, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Supported by a team of over 160 staff, Ms. Kamal-Chaoui leads the Centre’s work to advance the OECD mission of “better policies for better lives” by ensuring that all people, all types of places and businesses of all sizes can prosper from green and digital transitions (read the Centre’s brochure and dedicated blog for more details). This includes work in the fields of: SME and entrepreneurship policy; Regional, urban and rural development; Local employment and economic development (LEED programme); Subnational statistics; social economy; Multi-level governance, local finance and decentralisation; Tourism and Culture.
Prior to being Director, Ms. Kamal-Chaoui has held several senior positions at the OECD since 1998. From 2012 to 2016, she served as Senior Advisor to the OECD Secretary-General. In this role, she supported the Secretary-General’s strategic agenda and led the OECD Inclusive Growth Initiative, the Knowledge-Sharing Alliance programme, the development of the Global Deal and the implementation of the OECD Strategy on Development. From 2003 to 2012, she was Head of the Urban Programme in the OECD Directorate for Public Governance and Territorial Development. Previously, she also worked in the OECD Trade Directorate and the OECD Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs. Before joining the OECD, Ms. Kamal-Chaoui worked for a university-based research institute as well as several media outlets.
During her extensive career at the OECD, she has spearheaded several ground-breaking, multi-stakeholder OECD initiatives including the Roundtable for Mayors and Ministers, the Champion Mayors for Inclusive Growth Coalition, the Digital for SMEs (D4SMEs), and the StandbyYouth Initiative. She has also authored, co-authored, and overseen hundreds of policy reports and articles, and forged numerous strategic partnerships and collaborations with companies and international institutions. They include major philanthropic organisations (e.g. Ford Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Rockefeller Foundation, Kauffmann foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Open Society Foundations) as well as other prominent organisations (e.g. Vatican Pontifical Council of Justice and Peace, Club of Madrid), international civic organisations (e.g. Youth Forum, Ashoka Global) and multilateral institutions (e.g. World Bank, IADB, ADB, EBRD, European Commission, UN Habitat, APEC). She has also partnered with the private sector, including large corporations (e.g. Facebook, Amazon, Kakao, Microsoft, Vodafone) and business associations (e.g. International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), B4IG, SMEUnited).
Ms. Kamal-Chaoui has been a member of several International Committees and Advisory Boards (e.g. Lancet Green Recovery Task Force on COVID 19 recovery, C40 Women for Climate, UNWTO COVID-19 Crisis Group, World Economic Forum Deputy Board of Trustees, Vatican Expert Group on Inclusive Globalisation, Club of Madrid’s Shared Societies, Shanghai World Expo, Michael Bloomberg Mayors Challenge for Europe, Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo’s Strategic Committee). She has also been a lecturer at Sciences Po Paris for the “Governing Large Metropolis” Master’s Programme.
Ms. Kamal-Chaoui is a French and Moroccan national. She holds a Master’s Degree in Macroeconomics from the University of Paris Dauphine and a Master’s Degree in Foreign Languages and History from the University of Paris Diderot. She recently received the "Women of the Decade in Enterprise and Leadership" award of the Women's Economic Forum.
Constantijn van Oranje leads TechLeap.NL, the accelerator for the Tech-ecosystem in the Netherlands. As Special Envoy he is on a mission to turn The Netherlands into a unicorn nation. He and his team connect the Dutch Tech-ecosystem to help ambitious and promising Dutch Tech companies grow fast internationally by improving their access to capital, market and talent.
Constantijn co-founded StartupFest Europe, which is still the biggest start-up event ever organized in The Netherlands. He used to be Chief of Staff of VP Neelie Kroes at the European Commission in charge of the Digital Agenda and lead the Brussels office of the RAND Corporation.
He is currently also Director Digital Technology & Macro Strategy at Macro Advisory Partners in London and New York and Edge Fellow at Deloitte Centre for the Edge, where he advises companies and the European Commission on their digital innovation strategies. Besides innovation and technology.
Hon Stuart Nash first entered politics in 2008 as a list MP, and was elected Labour MP for Napier in 2014.
In his maiden speech Minister Nash described himself as first and foremost a public servant, employed by the people of New Zealand; and as a social democrat committed to sustainable economic development and growth. In 2017, he was sworn in as Minister of Police, Revenue, Fisheries and for Small Business.
In the 2020 Labour Government, he was given a suite of portfolios focused on supporting economic activity in our regions, as Minister for Economic and Regional Development, Tourism Minister, Forestry Minister and Minister for Small Business.