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A Rapid Assessment of the Effect of the COVID-19 Lockdown on Livelihoods and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises in Uganda

The study results revealed that the lockdown led to a significant reduction in sales and profitability by more than 60%. At the same time, business costs increased by more than 40%, and that female owned businesses were relatively more affected compared to those owned by males. The study also found that the lockdown affected employment as many lost their jobs due to movement restrictions, and employee lay-offs by businesses.

The study findings indicate that with diminished cash flow and/or business activity, there is a need to support businesses through loan restructuring, affordable and patient financial support, and tax incentives. Also, interventions to ensure readiness of markets and other essential business areas or activities to operate in a lockdown situation are important. In addition, there is a need to scale-up vaccination against COVID-19 and open schools (with stern monitoring of SOP adherence) to minimize further COVID-19 adverse effects on the education sector and related negative spillover.

The research was supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) 

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