The Impact of COVID-19 on Entrepreneurship Globally

Abstract

The pandemic of the COVID-19 virus originated from China in December 2019, and since then it has significantly affected the world’s economy and all sectors of life. This review will highlight the impact of COVID-19 on entrepreneurship. Due to preventive measures taken by governments to limit virus transmission, there was a prodigious disruption socially and economically to entrepreneurship, at different levels, of which small scale businesses and startups were among the most vulnerable. The adverse impact was observed in businesses worldwide and most of the newly formed businesses and startups were compelled to dismiss their employees, leading to issues such as widespread unemployment, lack of productivity, and the downturn of economies. COVID-19 also impacted the global supply chain, which resulted in a contraction of the worldwide economy. Many entrepreneurs and startups faced a significant reduction in revenue due to the impact on the global supply chain of both goods and services. In this article, we have discussed the challenges which entrepreneurs have experienced in the catastrophic time of COVID-19, and the measures taken by them to protect their ventures. It can be concluded that COVID-19 has significantly caused disruption to economies and entrepreneurship, and has posed several unprecedented challenges, however, the absolute impact remains unclear, as more in-depth longitudinal studies are required to better investigate this issue.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship, COVID-19, Global Health Crisis, Economy, Business, Finance