May 17 : Owing to the national lockdown imposed to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, as many as 60 percent of the total employees of the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) have lost their jobs, according to a study conducted by the Institute for Integrated Development Studies (IIDS) for the the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Nepal.
The very study was based on a survey carried out among 700 businesses and 400 individuals apart from government officials and elected representatives from 23 different districts.Among those losing their jobs, 41 percent are females and the remaining 28 percent males.
The study also shows that both the average monthly revenue of both the formal and informal MSMEs have also seen a whopping 95 fall since March 24 when the lockdown was enforced.
“They will not be able to sustain more than two months if the current restrictions continue to be extended,” it points out. A majority of the MSMEs are seeking for cash subsidies, subsidized loans, rental waiver etc to buoy up their shaky businesses.
Similarly, the study estimated that the tourism receipts in Nepal are likely to plummet by 60 percent in 2020 resulting in a loss of foreign currency earnings worth $400 million as a directly result of the international travel bans. This year, the inflow of remittances to Nepal will decline by 15 to 20 percent this fiscal.
“Because of the steep downturn in the trade, tourism and remittance, Nepal’s economic growth could well remain below 2.5 percent in 2019-2020,” the study concludes.
