BiznesALBANIA
The COVID-19 crisis is creating long lasting economic damage and changing the way enterprises do business in Albania.
Considering the important role that businesses play in creating jobs, economic growth, development and prosperity, the BiznesAlbania conducted a needs assessment survey to identify key challenges faced by businesses in Albania resulting from COVID-19.
This survey was conducted with 278 enterprises in Albania. Surveyed enterprises belonged to a range of sectors, including hotel / tourism, construction, textiles, leather and clothing food and beverages and a big number of workers.
The majority of enterprises in our survey were private and established between 1990-2017 .
Regarding the current state of enterprises, our survey identified the following:
1. Of total enterprises, 31 per cent of surveyed enterprises have stopped operating due to COVID-19, 38 per cent are partially operating, 7 per cent are operating remotely and 24 per cent are fully operating on site.
2. The highest share of enterprises not operating were small, medium 50 per cent, and enterprises from education, tourism, restaurant sectors.
3. About 56 per cent of enterprises have dismissed or planned to dismiss more than 31 per cent of their workforce. A significantly high share of small, medium enterprises and enterprises in education, tourism, restaurant sectors reported to have dismissed or planned to dismiss workers.
Key issues that enterprises are currently facing include:
4. The majority of enterprises, 65 per cent, stated that limited cash flow to maintain staff and business operations was inadequate. Of surveyed enterprises, 68 per cent reported that customers and/or clients have been affected and demand was lower than normal, and 36 per cent reported that workers were absent from work due to illness or government orders.
5. The disruption of supply chains is another key issue impacting businesses. 28 per cent of enterprises reported that suppliers were unable to provide inputs; and 35 per cent said that their business partners had been significantly impacted by COVID-19.
6. In terms of the financial impact of COVID-19 on revenue or sales 55 per cent of enterprises reported high impact and 21 per cent of enterprises reported medium impact. Financial impact was particularly high among small, medium enterprises and enterprises in refinery and mining, real estate activity, restaurants sectors.
We asked our members whether they were partially or fully insured before the COVID-19 crisis. Only 35 per cent of surveyed enterprises had an insurance policy. We also asked whether they had a business continuity plan (BCP) before the COVID-19 crisis. Only 50 per cent of surveyed enterprises had a BCP in place. This is worrisome and could significantly delay the recovery or even viability for many enterprises.
Lastly, our survey revealed that, 27 per cent of business owners estimated that it would take between 30 and 91 days to fully restore operations, and 8 per cent of business owners were considering closing either temporarily or permanently. The impact on the overall economy could be significant if timely measures for business continuity are not taken.
