Masiphila Faith Hlongwane, Survival of Rural SMEs During Covid-19 Lockdown in Southern Region of Kwazulu Natal (2024)

Summary

Article by Masiphila Faith Hlongwane of Durban University of Technology in the International Journal of Instruction, Technology, and Social Sciences, 2 (1), 2024, on how rural small businesses in Umzinto and Scortburgh, in Umdoni Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal, survived the COVID-19 lockdown. It describes lost revenue and closures as retail and transport shut down after the state of emergency of 26 March 2020. It cites an OECD survey in which 76.2% of firms saw revenue fall sharply and only 29.2% felt able to cover the next month's expenses. The author recommends avoiding complete lockdowns or pairing them with emergency loans and suspended loan payments.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Cite this document

“Masiphila Faith Hlongwane, Survival of Rural SMEs During Covid-19 Lockdown in Southern Region of Kwazulu Natal (2024).” Original at ijitsc.net. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/masiphila-faith-hlongwane-survival-of-rural-smes-during-covid-19-lockd-b3853baa29/, SHA-256 696dadc22be338a461c300f2e91ed40010030e53190303062985439d1929a8c2.

Full text

International Journal of
Instruction, Technology & Social
Sciences
www.ijitsc.net

Survival of Rural SMEs During Covid-
19 Lockdown in Southern Region of
Kwazulu Natal
Masiphila Faith Hlongwane
Department of Financial Accounting, Faculty of Accounting and Informatics, Durban

University of Technology, South Africa

Masiphila@gmail.com

ISSN: 2716-6546

To cite this article:

Hlongwane, M. F., (2024). Survival of Rural SMEs During Covid-19 Lockdown in Southern
Region of Kwazulu Natal, International Journal of Instruction, Technology, and Social
Sciences (IJITSS), 2 (1), 49-58.
International Journal Instruction, Technology, and Social Sciences

Volume 2, Issue 1, 2024 ISSN: 2716-6546

Survival of Rural SMEs’ During Covid-19 Lockdown in Southern Region
of Kwazulu Natal
Masiphila Faith Hlongwane

Article Info Abstract
Article History
Many nations had implemented travel restrictions and movement bans as a
Received: result of 19 pandemic outbreaks. One of the industries in South Africa that is
01 Jun 2023 most immediately impacted by the movement's control order is rural small
business. In actuality, smaller businesses are more significantly impacted than
Accepted:
01 Dec 2023
their larger counterparts. Due to the closure of numerous supporting industries
including retail and transportation, entrepreneurs endure business cancellation
or closure as well as loss of revenue. Studies on the effects of a pandemic
Keywords
epidemic on microbusinesses in underdeveloped nations, particularly with
Rural, regard to business continuity and recovery plan, are still lacking.The research
SMEs, was conducted in Umzinto and Scortburgh town in Umdoni Municipality. The
Lockdown, research recommended that government should be forced to refrain from
Covid-19 implementing complete lockdowns. But if the government decides that
lockdown is the only workable alternative, it must start financial support
programs, such as emergency loans and suspensions of principal and interest
payments.

Introduction

Globally, the coronavirus pandemic is responsible for significant human misery and widespread death. The worst
public health catastrophe in recent memory has also led to a massive economic crisis, with afflicted nations' output
ceasing, consumption falling, confidence plummeting, and stock exchanges reacting badly to growing uncertainty.
On March 5, 2020, the Minister of Health formally announced a locally verified COVID-19 case in South Africa
which resulted in state of emergency declared by SA President. On 26 March 2020, the government declared a
state of emergency, placing limits on people's freedom to move around and do business. The main issue,
especially in developing nations like South Africa, is making decisions based on the trade-off between the
financial expenses of a lockdown and the unrestricted spread of the epidemic. As the coronavirus crippled a large
portion of the South african economy and customers stayed at home to prevent the virus' spread, millions of small
business owners across the nation faced a similar problem (Rogerson and Rogerson, 2020). According to the
survey conducted by OECD indicated that 76.2% of the firms surveyed saw their revenue significantly decline
during the first five months of the lockdown. Of the 35.2% who had cash on hand, 62.6% estimated that their
financial reserves would last one to three months. Only 29.2% of organizations, however, felt optimistic about
their ability to cover expenses for the following month. Rural small companies entered the COVID-19 crisis with
compounding, preexisting vulnerabilities while they were still recovering from the Great Recession. Rural small
enterprises are heavily concentrated in the sectors that are most immediately exposed to the pandemic's effects
and lack adequate access to capital and broadband connectivity. Minority-owned rural small enterprises also suffer
increased vulnerabilities, just like in non-rural communities across the country, as structural racism and systemic
economic exclusion exacerbate hurdles to finance access, connectivity, and access to relief. Rural communities
will likely need coordinated assistance as they deal with these issues if they are to survive this disaster (Anwar,
Nasrullah and Hosen, 2020).

Owners quickly adjusted and came up with innovative strategies to alter their operating models in order to survive
(Rashid and Ratten, 2020). Many modest firms have yet failed. Others have made it through the pandemic and
intend to leverage the innovations they embraced to boost sales and provide new opportunities once the economy
12 Author Last Name(s)

recovers, although it is unclear how this will affect the nation's millions of workers. Studies on the effects of a
pandemic epidemic on microbusinesses in underdeveloped nations, particularly with regard to business continuity
and recovery plan, are still lacking. It is critical to investigate how rural SMEs handle crises and the choices they
make to keep their businesses alive. The aim of this paper is to identify challenges faced by rural SMEs in southern
region of Kwazulu natal and suggest solutions to help small businesses to recover from the greastest covid
recession. This study adds to the growing body of research on the practices used by SMEs and external support
during times of crisis and offers policymakers and SME managers new information about the significance of
external support in enhancing the beneficial effects of innovation practices on business survival. The results of
our data analysis are then presented and discussed in order to emphasize our key findings

i. The subsequent research question were asked in order to achieve this goal:
ii. Do rural SMEs face difficulties running their operations during the pandemic?
iii. How much have these difficulties impacted their business operations?

Literature review

Rurality concept

The term "rural" is ambiguous and can signify different things to various individuals, groups, and governments
(Wineman, Alia and Anderson, 2020). It might be difficult to define "rural" in a country with diverse topography
and shifting demographics. For individuals who are concerned with rural concerns, a specific definition of rural
is crucial. A definition that is both clearly defined and up to date in its interpretation is necessary for federal and
state policymakers, funders, service providers, and researchers. according to Putri, Russell and Kippen (2022)
several government agencies have developed detailed and nuanced definitions of rural to inform research, policies,
and programs specifically aimed at rural areas. While some definitions of rural are very broad or simply what is
left over after urban is defined, others are more specific. These categories also allow for some flexibility, allowing
users to choose between several levels of rurality, for example. In an effort to better meet the requirements of the
rural population, organizations providing rural health services will keep adapting their criteria. This reference
focuses on identifying and outlining the numerous federal definitions and categorization systems for rural that are
currently in use, as well as assisting users in locating the correct rural definition for program planning,
policymaking, and research.

SMEs overview

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) make up the great majority of businesses worldwide, making a
disproportionately large contribution to the employment situation and economy of the nation in question (Hillary,
2017). Future organic growth potential are found in these small firms and the goals of their business owners, not
in large-scale organizations. Small businesses are the backbone of many prosperous economies because they spur
innovation and competition in markets (Atkinson and Lind, 2018). The continuous COVID-19 pandemic is
wreaking havoc on Africa's small and medium-sized businesses and creating incalculable amounts of human
misery (SMEs). According to our definition, a small or medium-sized firm (SME) is "a separate and distinct
business entity, together with

its branches or subsidiaries, if any, including cooperative enterprises, managed by one owner or more principally
carried out in any sector or subsector." Our emphasis is on companies with a turnover of more than R15 million
but less than R500 million specifically. Although they dominate economies and employ around 80% of the
workers on the continent in both the formal and informal sectors, these companies are frequently the least resilient
during times of crises. According to Zafar and Mustafa (2017), More than 98 percent of enterprises in South
Africa are SMEs, which also employ 50 to 60 percent of the workforce overall and contribute 25 percent of job
growth in the private sector. And while South Africa's SMEs contribute less to GDP than other regions—39 percent
vs 57 percent in the EU—there is no denying that this industry is an important to economy.
Int J Inst Tech Soc Sci 13

Figure 1.1 SMEs Contribution to the Economy Source: Rajagopaul, Magwentshu and Kalidas (2020).

Covid19 pendemic resulted on a serious crisis on rural SMEs. Rural areas have also been significantly impacted
by the COVID-19 disaster (Pierce and Stevermer, 2020). Due to their great dependency on production resources
and low income, rural areas, particularly those in developing nations, are the most vulnerable. Due to this
vulnerability, rural MSEs have greater challenges in times of crisis, such as the COVID-19 economic shock.

Highlights of Challanges faced by Rural SMEs in general

Lack of skills

One of the biggest obstacles for rural businesses is the availability of trained workers (Errighi, Khatiwada and
Bodwell, 2016). The fact is that they have less formal education and training. In rural areas as well, a lack of
technological literacy is prevalent. Due to illiteracy and ignorance, rural business owners struggle with legal
requirements and are unable to get permits. The absence of technological expertise is still another issue.

Access to finance

Finance is a problem because of the types of enterprises that investors find to be tiny and not as profitable as big
ones (Taiwo and Folohun, 2016) Most rural entrepreneurs do not get external funds due to the absence of credit
in the market and tangible security. The procedure of taking loan is also so time-consuming that it often
disappoints the rural entrepreneur and de- lays her/him. Government does not provide proper infrastructural
facilities (Fitriasari, 2020). Because of the less financial resources or external support, entrepreneurs are deemed
to have less risk bearing capacity. Lack of lending institutions limits access to capital.

Challenges faced by rural SMEs during covid -19

Small businesses moving online has been one of the largest trends to emerge during the COVID-19 epidemic and
has opened up numerous chances to address various problems (Bartik, Bertrand, Cullen, Glaeser, Luca, M. and
Stanton, 2022). In fact, the internet continues to be a lifeline for many small enterprises, keeping them viable
during the pandemic especially in urban communities.

Lack of demand and reduction of revenue

The demand for many SMEs has already fallen dramatically. Previous studies indicate that More than 80% of
respondents wanted to cut back on spending in all retail categories, and more than 70% wanted to spend less on
transportation and travel-related expenses. Small enterprises may have experienced greater relative revenue losses
at the start of the COVID-19 crisis than major corporations (Fairlie and Fossen, 2022). When the epidemic struck,
small firms probably weren't as well-equipped to respond swiftly to shifts in laws and consumer demand. Small
firms may encounter greater challenges when trying to increase their web presence, increase takeout or delivery
services, or deal with liability uncertainties during the health crisis due to high fixed costs and necessary
14 Author Last Name(s)

knowledge requirements. In particular, due to lower liquidity reserves, less collateral, and greater uncertainty from
the perspective of lenders and investors during the emerging economic crisis, small businesses may have had less
ability to obtain financing needed for adjustments, such as investing in online ordering and inventory management
(Fairlie and Fossen, 2022)

Bankruptcy

Due to lockdowns, small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) have experienced significant liquidity shortages
at a rate much higher than operational costs (Shafi, Liu and Ren, 2020). Government assistance has been essential
for SMEs and business owners experiencing liquidity issues. In fact, a lot of nations implemented transient
measures to reduce bankruptcy. Governments will need to implement policies to address this as well as potential
contagion effects to the wider economy. There is a risk that the financial support given by governments may have
simply delayed the wave of bankruptcies, especially in countries where financial support has increased the level
of indebtedness of firms. To guarantee that resources are shifted from non-viable businesses, these policies
execute prompt debt restructuring for viable businesses and effective liquidation procedures.

Government support

Studies have demonstrated that the COVID-19 epidemic has caused SMEs to face a number of hurdles and
difficulties. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been severely impacted by the period of closure
and movement prevention measures implemented by governments in many countries, stalling their operations,
weakening their financial situations, and exposing them to financial risk (Omar, Isak and Jusoh, 2020). To stop
the spread of COVID-19, many nations restricted their markets and commercial areas. Small firms consequently
have fixed expenses like salaries and rent even while they make no money or lose money. Previous studies
indicated that SMEs in rural areas did not use payment relief programs like UIF and PAYE, while 36% did not
receive government loans or help. Entrepreneurs were not aware of the chances or were unable to locate the
information necessary to apply were the top two reasons for not utilizing such support, in addition to not qualifying
(Rajagopaul, Magwentshu. and Kalidas, 2020). In order to ensure that public funds are effectively used to finance
investments that promote growth and innovation and are not artificially maintaining the so-called "zombie firms,"
that are not viable in the marketplace in the medium to long term, and distorting competition, governments and
public bodies responsible for supporting SMEs should monitor the impact of the financial support provided to
SMEs. SMEs should also be fully conscious of the fact that public resources are scarce, and as a result, they should
plan their exit strategy from reliance on government assistance through innovation and new business models.

Strategies in assisting SMEs

Encouragement of smaller businesses to get online is one method that governments might lessen the impact of
lockdowns on Rural SMEs (Thukral, 2021). In addition to operating direct sales and delivery services to current
clients and creating alternative market access, this can help them reach new groups of potential customers. Many
businesses, including those in the food delivery, personal entertainment, and clothing sectors, have quickly
adopted this choice.

preserving company liquidity and reconsidering operational paradigms

Small enterprises in the informal sector require urgent liquidity support if they are to survive the crisis (Dev and
Sengupta, 2020). Such a short-term increase in SMEs' liquidity should pass through the channels that business
owners are already familiar with and confident in. This means that, if permitted by regulation, community-based
financial and microfinance organizations should be treated as vital services during the crisis and given emergency
liquidity. Because of the crisis, business and operating models will need to be fundamentally reevaluated, which
will have long-term effects on the small business sector. While short-term solutions could offer immediate
assistance, they don't do much to create long-term sustainability. In order to achieve this, the financing gap for
SMEs must be structurally reduced. To do this, microfinance systems must be expanded to include additional
services like insurance, technical support for obtaining loans, and business trainings.

Methodology

The study was carried out in Southern Region of Kwazulu Natal in Umzinto and scortburgh town. A thorough
literature search was done and the results were used to create the survey questions. For the purpose of gathering
empirical data for this study, 150 SMEs were requested to complete one page of questionnaire. Telephone calls
were used to schedule prior appointments. The respondents had 24 hours to complete the survey.
Int J Inst Tech Soc Sci 15

Summary of key questions

Questions Alternative response

Please rank the Covid 19 issuesthat is the most a)loss of revenue b) business closure c) retrenching
difficult or disturbing. employees

The company's model resilient is enough to deal with a) strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, strongly
current crises as well as those that may arise in the disagree
future

What tactics did you use to keep things running well a) online orders, b) contactless orders, c) closed d)
while the pandemic was present? other

The business have a crisis management teams to a) strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, strongly
handle the effects on short-term liquidity and start the disagree
necessary countermeasures

How long will it take to fully recover from the a) 6-12 months, b) 1-2 years c) 3-5 years
pandemic's losses?

Any government support received from government a) Yes. b) No
during pandemic

Results and discussion
The previous sections included a literature review on the issues faced by South African rural SMEs during covid-
19 lockdown. The main conclusions from the study are discussed in this section. 109 respondents returned
questionnaires that were fully completed.

The respondents were asked to indicate the most challenging feature they experienced. The results of this study
revealed that 89 (81.7%.) Suffered loss of revenue , 8 (7,3%) retrenched more employees and 12 (11%) incurred
more debts. The covid issues of the SMEs owners is presented in chart below.
16 Author Last Name(s)

Covid features
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
a) loss of revenue b) Business closure c) retrenchment of d) long term debt
employees

Frequency Percentage

The respondents were asked whether their company resilience is enough for current crisis and those that may rise
in the future. The results of this study revealed that 1 (0,9%.) agreed of revenue , 18 (16,5%) was neutral and 90
(82,6%) disagreed. The company resilience is presented in chart below.

Company resilience
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
a) strongly agree b) Agree c) Neutral d) disagree e) strongly
disagree

Frequency Percentage

The respondents were asked to indicate the tactics they used to keep thei business running during covid -19
lockdown. The results of this study revealed that 5 (4,6%.) did contactless orders, 100 (91,7%) closed their
businesses and 4 (3.7%) used other ways. Trading alternatives of the SMEs is presented in chart below.
Int J Inst Tech Soc Sci 17

Trading alternatives

120

100

0 Frequency Percentage
a) Online orders b)contacless orders c)closed d) other

The respondents were asked if they have a crisis management team to handle the effect on short term liquidity.
The results of this study revealed that 8 (7,3%.) agreed, 26 (23,9%) neutral, 68 (62,4%) disagreed and 7(6,4%)
strongly disagreed. Crisis management is presented in chart below.

Crisis management team
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
a) Strongly agree b) Agree c) Neutral d) disagree e) Strongly
disagree

Frequency Percentage

The respondents were asked to indicate how long it will take to recover from Covid-19 lockdown. The results of
this study revealed that 20 (18,3%.) 6-12 months, 11 (10%) 1-2 years and 5(4,6%) will take 3-5 years to recover.
Business recovery is presented in chart below.
18 Author Last Name(s)

70
Business recovery
60

0
a) 6-12 months b) 1-2 years c) 3-5 years

Frequency Percentage

The respondents were asked if they received government support grants during covid lockdown. The results of
this study revealed that 20 (18,3%.) strongly agreed, 11 (10%) agreed, 5 (4,6%) Neutral, 9 (8,3%), disagreed
and 64(58,7%) strongly disagreed. Government support is presented in chart below.

Government support
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
a) strongly agree b) Agree c) Neutral d) disagree e) strongly
disagree

Frequency Percentage

Discussion

This study's primary goal was to investigate how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected rural small businesses and
entrepreneurship economically while also advancing research and economic implications important to
comprehending the nature of the pandemic shock, effects, and opportunities for SMEs and large corporations in
the short- and long-term perspectives more generally. The following research questions has been answered: Do
rural SMEs face difficulties running their operations during the pandemic? How much have these difficulties
impacted their business operations?
Int J Inst Tech Soc Sci 19

The findings revealed that 81,7% of small businesses in Southern region of Kwazulu Natal suffered loss of
revenue during the Covid-19 pandemic. In the event of losing sales, business were then forced to retrench more
employees and their businesses was closed for months not trading. Most rural businesses indicated by 82,6% in
Southern region of Kwazulu Natal does not have enough company resilience for future crisis that may occur like
covid 19 lockdown. It will take number of years for small businesses to recover and that government support is
also limited. More debts were incurred by small business to cover their fixed costs while their businesses were
not operating.

Conclusion

The confinement probably made many rural businesses feel frustrated, stressed and anxious. The COVID-19
pandemic outbreak has had a detrimental impact on small businesses in South Region of Kwazulu-Natal.
Numerous studies of small businesses within the context of COVID-19 have shown that smaller enterprises lack
the resilience and flexibility of larger firms to endure the crisis (Shrimali, 2020). Cash reserves and cost-cutting
methods are employed internally to keep small enterprises from failing during the lockdown restrictions. However,
a lot of small firms don't have enough cash on hand (Assefa & Yadavilli, 2020). According to the study, lockout
restrictions have a terrible effect on small enterprises' ability to survive. As a result, the government should be
forced to refrain from implementing complete lockdowns. But if the government decides that lockdown is the
only workable alternative, it must start financial support programs, such as emergency loans and suspensions of
principal and interest payments.

Recommendations for further research

The majority of COVID-19 studies have focused on the macroeconomic, political, and health effects. Few studies
of COVID-19 focused on small companies survival, despite the fact that small enterprises make a significant
economic contribution and are highly susceptible to economic shocks. Entrepreneurs who have lost their
businesses could be the subject of another study. Knowing more precisely how the failure occurred and what steps
might be made to restore these businesses would be prudent given that such failed businesses failed for causes
outside of their control. The government entities that oversee the neighborhood SME enterprises would be most
suited to handle this.

Limitations

Due to the rarity of pandemics like COVID-19, there are few empirical studies and hypotheses about small
business survivability during a lockdown. In this aspect, the study lacks significant supporting hypotheses and
published literatures. Due to the conceptual nature of this paper and the breadth of the research topic while
COVID-19 is still in progress, it has some limitations. A newly discovered COVID-19 variation is the cause of
the disease's accelerated transmission. It has to be examined and researched how this impact may change over
time in company, particularly in SMEs.

References

Anwar, S., Nasrullah, M. and Hosen, M.J., 2020. COVID-19 and Bangladesh: challenges and how to address
them. Frontiers in public health, 8, p.154.

Atkinson, R.D. and Lind, M., 2018. Big is beautiful: Debunking the myth of small business. MIT Press.

Bartik, A.W., Bertrand, M., Cullen, Z., Glaeser, E.L., Luca, M. and Stanton, C., 2020. The impact of COVID-19
on small business outcomes and expectations. Proceedings of the national academy of sciences, 117(30),
pp.17656-17666.

Daud, Y., Raman, A., Don, Y., Sofian, O. F. M., & Hussin, F. (2015). The type of culture at a high performance
schools and low performance school in the state of Kedah. International Education Studies, 8(2).
https://doi.org/10.5539/ies.v8n2p21
20 Author Last Name(s)

Dev, S.M. and Sengupta, R., 2020. Covid-19: Impact on the Indian economy. Indira Gandhi Institute of
Development Research, Mumbai April.

Don, Y., & Raman, A. (2019). School Management And Leadership: Teamwork In Schools. Multidisciplinary
Journal of Instruction (MDJI), 1(2), 14–36. https://journal.mdji.org/index.php/MDJI/article/download/8/6

Errighi, L., Khatiwada, S. and Bodwell, C., 2016. Business process outsourcing in the Philippines: Challenges for
decent work. ILO Asia-Pacific Working Paper Series.

Fairlie, R. and Fossen, F.M., 2022. The early impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on business sales. Small
Business Economics, 58(4), pp.1853-1864.

Hillary, R. ed., 2017. Small and medium-sized enterprises and the environment: business imperatives. Routledge

Ismail, S. N., Nur, A. H. B., Raman, A., & Purnomo, Y. W. (2019). A Mixed-Method Study of the Epistemological
Teacher-beliefs towards Educational Research in Classroom Teaching Practices. International Journal of
Instruction, 12(4), 393–406.

Jalapang, I., & Raman, A. (2020). Effect of instructional leadership, principal efficacy, teacher efficacy and school
climate on students’ academic achievements. Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 9(3), 82.
https://doi.org/10.36941/ajis-2020-0043

Omar, A. R. C., Ishak, S., & Jusoh, M. A. 2020. The impact of Covid-19 movement control order on SMEs’
businesses and survival strategies. Geografia-Malaysian Journal of Society and Space, 16(2), 90–103.

Pierce, R.P. and Stevermer, J.J., 2020. Disparities in use of telehealth at the onset of the COVID-19 public health
emergency. Journal of telemedicine and telecare, p.1357633X20963893.

Putri, L.P., Russell, D.J., O’Sullivan, B.G., Meliala, A. and Kippen, R., 2022. A critical review of definitions of
rural areas in Indonesia and implications for health workforce policy and research. Health Research Policy
and Systems, 20(1), pp.1-15.

Rajagopaul, A., Magwentshu, N. and Kalidas, S., 2020. How South African SMEs can survive and thrive post
COVID-19. Providing the Right Support to Enable SME Growth Now and Beyond the Crisis.

Raman, A. (2019). Potentials of Fog computing in higher Education. International Journal of Emerging
Technologies in Learning (iJET), 14(18), 194. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijet.v14i18.10765

Raman, A., Ying, L. T., & Khalid, R. (2015). The Relationsip between Culture and Organizational Commitment
among Chinese Primary School Teachers. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences.
https://doi.org/10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n2s5p93

Rashid, S. and Ratten, V., 2021. Entrepreneurial ecosystems during COVID-19: the survival of small businesses
using dynamic capabilities. World Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable
Development.

Raman, A., Thannimalai, R., Don, Y., & Rathakrishnan, M. (2021). A Bibliometric analysis of blended learning
in Higher Education: Perception, Achievement and engagement. International Journal of Learning
Teaching and Educational Research, 20(6), 126–151. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.20.6.7

Rathakrishnan, M., Raman, A., Haniffa, M. A., Mariamdaran, S. D., & Haron, A. (2018). The drill and practice
application in teaching science for lower secondary students. International Journal of Education,
Psychology and Counseling. http://repo.uum.edu.my/27063/

Rogerson, C.M. and Rogerson, J.M., 2020. COVID-19 tourism impacts in South Africa: Government and industry
responses. Geo Journal of Tourism and Geosites, 31(3), pp.1083-1091.

Shafi, M., Liu, J. and Ren, W., 2020. Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on micro, small, and medium-sized
Enterprises operating in Pakistan. Research in Globalization, 2, p.100018.
Int J Inst Tech Soc Sci 21

Taiwo, J.N. and Falohun, T.O., 2016. SMEs financing and its effects on Nigerian economic growth. European
Journal of Business, Economics and Accountancy, 4(4).

Thukral, E., 2021. COVID‐19: Small and medium enterprises challenges and responses with creativity,
innovation, and entrepreneurship. Strategic Change, 30(2), pp.153-158

Wineman, A., Alia, D.Y. and Anderson, C.L., 2020. Definitions of “rural” and “urban” and understandings of
economic transformation: Evidence from Tanzania. Journal of rural studies, 79, pp.254-268.

Zafar, A. and Mustafa, S., 2017. SMEs and its role in economic and socio-economic development of Pakistan.
International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, 6(4).

Author Information
Masiphila Faith Hlongwane
Department of Financial Accounting, Faculty of Accounting and Informatics,
Durban University of Technology, South Africa
Masiphila@gmail.com

File and source

File: hlongwane-2024-survival-of-rural-smes-during-covid-19-lockdown-in-southern-region-of-kwazu.pdf
Size: 388,004 bytes
SHA-256: 696dadc22be338a461c300f2e91ed40010030e53190303062985439d1929a8c2
Our copy: hlongwane-2024-survival-of-rural-smes-during-covid-19-lockdown-in-southern-region-of-kwazu.pdf
Original: ijitsc.net