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Purpose The impact of COVID-19 outbreak freeze economic actors and hold innovative startups. This triggered the researchers to investigate the effect of the pandemic on small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Egypt and how do these start-ups deal on the whole with this serious situation. Design/methodology/approach The research in hand used both qualitative and quantitative methods. It started first with semi-structured interview questions addressed to a number of participants, then a quantitative study took place, ending with conclusion and recommendations. Findings There is an agreement among all participants that entrepreneurs should always be flexible and seek for investments in innovation. However, there is a discrepancy among participants’ opinions regarding the measurements taken by the Egyptian Government post the pandemic outbreak. Research limitations/implications The field study results and the exploratory research results would have come out more accurate if it was not confined only to geographical limitation (Cairo Governorate). Practical implications The research in hand suggests that practical measurements should not only provide first aid to start-ups by alleviating the pressure caused by constrained cash flow but also consider long-term measures embedded in and supported by the wider entrepreneurial ecosystem to ensure start-ups rapid recovery and growth. Social implications SMEs attribute to social and economic change and have an impact on the local public and social services sector as a result of the business’s activities. Originality/value This study first illustrates the challenges entrepreneurs are facing because of the pandemic, then it presents how entrepreneurs are dealing with the effects of the crisis.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate to what extent the level of human development affects the relationships between entrepreneurial activities (EAs) and total factor productivity (TFP). The paper's objectives are threefold. First, it seeks to examine the effect of EA on TFP. Second, it attempts to test for the moderating effect of human development on the relation between EA and TFP, using the generalized methods of moments (GMM), in a panel data across two groups of countries based on their human development index during the period 2000-2008. Third, it tests the causality between TFP, EA, research and development (R&D), unemployment and inflation across countries. Design/methodology/approach – Cross-countries study using a panel GMM for two groups of countries based on their human development index during the period 2000-2008. Findings – Empirical evidence provides that EA have a positive significant relation across countries on TFP in the higher human development levels. The outcomes point toward the role of policies supporting EA as a vital tool to accelerate development and growth via channels such as: better education levels, enhancing R&D, creating more jobs, and stable monetary policy. Research limitations/implications – From the paper limitation is it focusses only on very high human and high human development countries and not studying medium and low-development countries but this limitation is refereed to source of the entrepreneurship data. Practical implications – This paper provides a comparative analysis of the empirical results and presents prospective explanations for the observed relationships between different groups of countries to study the dynamics of change with relative short time series. Originality/value – The study is of value for policy makers of the important relation between levels of development among countries as engine to growth via EA. Moreover, the findings provide a set of policies for governments to undertake tenable actions to accelerate the effectiveness of the institutional setting.

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PurposeThe introduction of technology in education has been a strategic objective at both the governmental and educational institutional levels long before Covid-19. However, the acceleration to e-learning caused by the pandemic disrupted the traditional classroom environment overnight forcing the entire sector at all levels, school, undergraduate and postgraduate, to shift to online learning. Regardless of readiness, the action was taken, and online instruction was implemented, improved, adjusted and enhanced during the experience. After 18 months comprising three semesters of online education amongst MBA and DBA students, the researchers decided to survey to investigate and assess the quality of the experience. The study aims to investigate the students’ perception of this unique opportunity to provide an assessment of online education in higher education, achievement or failure, and based on the results, provide a roadmap for improvement. The study also addresses the uniqueness of the Egyptian higher education environment and the particularity of its student’s context.Design/methodology/approachThis study used a quantitative descriptive survey method to find out how students felt about their online education by giving them a questionnaire and using automated numerical computation to generate data. The total number of the completed survey was 853. However, to include only those responses that were completed attentively, a speed factor was calculated for each respondent. Cases with speed factors higher than three were excluded from the sample, leading to 666 accepted responses. Data collected were analysed using correlation, regression and path analysis.FindingsFavourable satisfaction levels towards online education, and favourable perceptions towards university support, instructor–student communication and course design were found. Less favourable perceptions were found towards peer collaborations and student initiative.Research limitations/implicationsWhile the study proves reliability through the number of candidates participating in the survey, the rigorous measures of eliminations in the sample, the validity value of the questionnaire and the literature recommendation of the model are used here; yet it is important to point out that: further elements in the e-learning can and need to be studied, such as cultural implications, generational differences, government support reality from policies to infrastructure and management philosophy readiness in developing countries amongst other factors.Practical implicationsResources and skills are amongst the factors that were found to affect students’ satisfaction with online education, directly and positively. Student initiative was found to have a moderating role in how student, instructor and institution determinants affect students’ satisfaction with online education.Originality/valueThe uniqueness of this paper is that it seeks to assess the agility of the Egyptian education system during COVID-19 in higher education. It provides evidence to the current status as no study assesses the student perception.

<p>This paper aims to test the validity of the causality between financial development and economic growth on energy consumption in three of North African countries. The study employs error coreection model and Granger causaility test to analyza a dataset for three North African countries covering a period from 1980 to 2010. The applied model is based on demand function for energy to assess the existing of causal relationship of energy with financial development, and economic growth, in Algeria, Egypt, and Tunisia. Empirical results provide a positive significant relating financial development and energy consumption in Algeria, and Tunisia. On the other hand, Egypt’s results show a negative significant relationship relating energy consumption and financial development. The paper is valuable to policy makers in North African countries in their pursuit for achieving economic growth as it clarifies the urge for the financial development reforms to stimulate investment and growth.</p>

This paper aims to analyse the adaptation of the airline industry after the hit of the coronavirus pandemic. This virus is affecting the global economy by targeting the most profitable industries and making them collapse. By making a qualitative analysis of the topic this research paper examines how the airline industry faces such a challenge. Also, it analyses how several airline companies shut down through the huge debt that they faced and how tourism declined sharply in all countries. This paper also examines the slow comeback which was experienced by the airline industry. Finally, the paper proposes a set of policies to overcome the current crisis and future setbacks.