Impact of the Covid-19 on PYMES in Guápiles Pococi by 2020

Abstract

In March 2020 Costa Rica declared a state of emergency throughout the national territory because of the spread of COVID-19, since then, actions have been implemented to prevent its spread. These measures have particularly impacted SMEs. Knowing the level of impact, product of the health measures suffered by the SMEs of Guápiles de Pococí is the objective of this research. At the methodological level, an exploratory and descriptive study was developed. For this purpose, a survey was carried out through a digital survey that was sent to a total of 76 SMEs in the area with the purpose of characterizing and identifying from their own perception the impact of the pandemic on the operation and continuity of business. Among the main results, it was possible to identify that: i) there is a gender balance among the owners, ii) the enterprises mostly correspond to micro-enterprises with more than five years of existence and iii) the majority of the companies that made direct sales suffered effects in them, they made combinations to deal with the crisis with reductions in payroll, working hours and suspension of contracts. It is concluded that the health measures implemented have significantly impacted the business sector, particularly in the levels of sales, employability, capacity to deal with debts, relationship with suppliers and use of resources to provide continuity in the operation. The importance of defining public policies aimed at promoting the productive activity of SMEs is also noted.