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.
