Covid-19 and Hawking Practices on Informal Sector & Smes: Solutions for Kisumu County, Kenya

The study by Omar et al., (2020) while looking at the impact of covid-19 movement control order on SMEs’ businesses and survival strategies in Malaysia, concluded that investment into technology, apps, online marketing and new delivery system is prudent in impulsive future of the Covid-19 pandemic crisis. Besides that, Aftab et al., (2021) writing on an analysis of COVID-19 implications for SMEs in Pakistan showed that review of government policies government financing schemes, youth entrepreneurship loans, withholding of skilled staff, liquidity provision with more short-term loans and hands-on planning for adverse future for revival of the SMEs sector during the COVID 19 pandemic period. Likewise, Gondwe (2020) while assessing the impact of covid-19 on Africa’s economic development observed that there is need for Africa to fabricate productive approaches to take into consideration essential economic vulnerabilities and improve continental potential to manage any pandemic. On the other hand, Nafula et al., (2020) while conducting a research on poverty and distributional effects of COVID-19 on households in Kenya show cased that no one policy is effective on its own but there should be a harmonization of all economic policies in order in reducing poverty with the advent of COVID 19 pandemic.

Subsequently, with the advent of COVID 19, it was vivid that the economy had a direct impact on households across the board despite of their location and the various sectors of the economy in Kenya (FSD Kenya, (2021). Finally, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (2020) survey on socio economic impact of COVID-19 on households report concluded that while taking into account the COVID-19 pandemic, the national poverty headcount ratio increased relatively by 13.0 percentage points from an estimated 28.9% in the pre-COVID-19 period in 2019 to 41.9% in 2020, consequently, approximately 6.1 million people, or 13.0% of Kenya’s population, are anticipated to have fallen into poverty in 2020. In Nairobi and Mombasa where the lockdowns were implemented, the absolute poverty incidence increased from 14.0% before the crisis (2019) to 38.6% after the COVID-19 effects (2020), as a result pushing nearly 1,452,443 people into poverty in 2020. Based on this survey, it can be modeled in Kisumu County with the introduction of COVID 19 containment measures and later lockdown in the lake region counties where Kisumu county is one of them, hence impacting its SMEs and the informal sector directly.

COVID-19 has is the most serious global health crisis after the Spanish flue of 1918, but despite the pandemics, the level of globalization in 2020 has meant that any containment policies established by governments would have a great impact on economies, and therefore small businesses in those economies (C4G, 2020). Hence, as a result Kisumu County Government ought to come up with robust policy frameworks to address the issues of rekindling its economic so us to inject new approaches it its various SMEs and the informal sector.

3.0 Models to be adopted in Kisumu County to revive SMEs and informal sector due to the COVID 19 pandemic

S/No. Model to be adopted Approach to be induced for the recommended Model Approach

1. • improving service and service quality

• application of technological models in advertising, ordering and supplying goods and services

2. Work frames for SMEs on:

• tax,

• administrative

• banking and financial support

3. Rationalization of:

• Government policies

• youth entrepreneurship loans

• withholding of skilled staff

4. Harmonization of productive approached boosting product quality, improving service quality and application of technological models

Author(s) recommending the approach

Nugraheni et al., (2020) review of government policies government financing schemes, youth entrepreneurship loans, withholding of skilled staff, liquidity provision with more short-term loans and hands-on planning for adverse future for revival of the SMEs sector

Detailed procedures must be adopted, which includes tax, administrative, banking and financial support for small and medium-sized businesses.

Fabricate productive approaches to take into consideration of essential economic vulnerabilities and improve continental

Razumovskaia, et al., (2020)& Omar et al., (2020)

Aftab et al., (2021) & Nafula et al. (2020)

Gondwe (2020)