Zaazou, Zeinab AbbasAbdou, Doaa M. Salman2021-10-042021-10-042020-11https://doi.org/10.1108/JHASS-09-2020-0161http://repository.msa.edu.eg/xmlui/handle/123456789/4739Purpose – 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.en-USCOVID-19 outbreak,Innovative start-ups,Exploratory research,Practical measurements,Entrepreneurial EcosystemArticlehttps://doi.org/10.1108/JHASS-09-2020-0161