COVID-19 bailout nationalism: a predicament in saving small immigrant-owned businesses in South Africa

The small business sector has been identified as an essential component of the global economy, especially in developing economies, where it plays a significant role in addressing job creation and poverty. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and its attendant lockdown restrictions have brought untold deva...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science 2022-09, Vol.11 (6), p.33-42
Main Authors: Ojugbele, Hammed Olabode, Tengeh, Robertson K., Ogunlela, Oyebanjo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bailouts
Business operations
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Disease transmission
Economic development
Economic growth
Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurship
Global economy
Immigrants
Job creation
Literature reviews
Pandemics
Poverty
Small business
Social capital
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Summary:The small business sector has been identified as an essential component of the global economy, especially in developing economies, where it plays a significant role in addressing job creation and poverty. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and its attendant lockdown restrictions have brought untold devastation to the sector forcing many out of operation, crippling business operations and financial viability. We seek to identify the role and impact of government relief measures in helping immigrant-owned businesses in South Africa to deal with the impact of the pandemic on their businesses. Primary data was collected using an electronic questionnaire administered to 260 foreign business owners in South Africa. The data was cleaned and statistically analysed using IBM SPSS version 27. We interpreted and discussed the results using the realistic conflict theory. Though a vast majority of the businesses (89%) reported that the pandemic had a very severe impact on their financial sustainability and liquidity, none of them reported that they benefitted from any of the South African government business support packages during the pandemic.
ISSN:2147-4478
2147-4478
DOI:10.20525/ijrbs.v11i6.1961