Planning for recovery: how can governments worldwide help small businesses to ‘build back better’?
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The pandemic continues to wreak havoc on public finances worldwide. But forward-thinking governments are already looking at how they can ‘build back better’. Small businesses, which employ about 70 per cent of the world’s workforce and contribute around half of the world’s GDP, are – and will remain – fundamental, particularly when it comes to creating jobs in the post-COVID era.
At present all businesses face challenges ranging from disrupted supply chains to shifts in consumer behaviour that will endure well beyond COVID-19. However, the impacts are much greater for small businesses, building on existing struggles linked to access to finance and rapid digitisation. To aid this economic backbone, governments around the world are striving to address the immediate cashflow needs of small businesses, while enabling and equipping them to continue operating in this changing and ever more digital landscape.
This Global Government Forum/Global Government Fintech webinar discussed: What were the greatest challenges faced by small businesses as the pandemic continued? How have public and private sectors collaborated to drive economic resilience and digitisation among small business during the pandemic? How can governments best help small businesses understand and plan for the world beyond COVID-19?
Panel
- Pavel Vinkler, Director of Business Environment and Internal Trade Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Czech Republic
- Andrea Gilman, SVP, Global SME Segment Lead, Mastercard
- Darryl Julott, Managing Lead, Digital Main Street Canada (Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas)
- Timothy Ogden, Managing Director, Financial Access Initiative, New York University
