Impact of COVID-19 on SMEs in Thailand 2021

A survey on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Thailand in 2021 found that around 61.6 percent of SMEs experienced less income from the COVID-19 pandemic. SMEs are considered one of the most important business sectors in Thailand, contributing a large part to the country's exports and GDP.

 A country driven by small and medium businesses 

SMEs have been regarded as one of the most significant drivers of the Thai economy and contributes to around half of the country’s GDP. Despite being large in numbers, SMEs in Thailand still have limitations in terms of business infrastructure. The government has realized this and thus created the Office of SMEs Promotion as an effort to ease business operations for SMEs. The continuous governmental support and the increased accessibility of starting a business has then led to a substantial increase in SMEs, thus contributing to a stable growth in GDP, especially for the industry and services sector.

 The economic effect on SMEs of COVID-19

   The COVID-19 pandemic has undeniably affected many SMEs in Thailand. The pandemic has first limited the flow of tourism which then led to a chain effect that disturbed other core sectors. Additionally, stringent government policies towards the pandemic have also directly affected the survivability of SMEs, leading to many businesses being shut down as well as many workers being laid-off. However, private efforts from the businesses itself have managed to sustain its operations for some businesses. One of the most effective practices include finding additional channels of income, especially adapting to online channels.