The rampant, unprecedented outbreak of COVID-19 has significantly intimidated small and medium enterprises (SMEs) all over the globe, putting them under tremendous pressure in sustaining their businesses. It is undeniable that the pandemic has successfully demonstrated how many small enterprises are financially fragile. Growing evidence has shown that most non-essential businesses were forced to temporarily shut down to avoid the outbreak, precipitating critical logistics problems, scarcity of manpower, and low sales performance. Due to such a crisis, immediate assistance, such as government aids and policy development and strategies to help SMEs, are critical in combating potential shutdown among businesses. Substantially, the durability of the SMEs is evidently dependent upon the administration of the policymakers' efforts. In essence, this paper analyses the impacts of the pandemic on the number of active SMEs from different countries. In particular, the impacts were classified into several themes. According to the findings, countries concentrate on policies that benefit SMEs by making loan and credit applications more available, offering direct monetary stimulus, and deferring taxation. This research includes valuable perspectives that allow policymakers and managers recognise the effects of a pandemic and implement successful risk management plans that can contribute to better policy strategies.
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