Aftermath of Covid-19 and Women in Small Scale Industries in Owerri Nigeria

Abstract

The aftermath of covid-19 refers to events that took place in small scale businesses owned by women in Owerri after the covid-19 pandemic. This led to the imposition of travel ban as well as physical/social distancing to help decrease the spread of the virus which, may have exerted a severe impact on women who engaged in small scale enterprises. Therefore, this study investigated the activities of women in small scale enterprises in the aftermath of the covid-19 pandemic and ways in which these women coped especially because they had relied heavily on the “face-to-face’’ customer relations and business transactions prior to the outbreak of the pandemic. The study adopted the adaptive structuration theory propounded by DeSanctis and Poole (1994) because it effectively explains the challenges women in small scale enterprises face in the aftermath of the pandemic. The study made use of questionnaire and secondary sources of data collection technique like, journal articles, books and internet materials. Data collected were presented in tabular form and analyzed using percentages. The findings revealed that women in small scale industries were negatively affected by the pandemic. Notably, some of the coping strategies adopted by women included; the slashing of workers’ salary, reduction in production and cancellation of orders made before the outbreak of the pandemic. It was also observed that these women did not adopt any digital means of reaching out to their customers. Therefore, this study recommended that E-commerce trainings should be considered by government and nongovernment organizations to empower and enable these women continue their businesses even in the face of sudden disruptions like the covid-19 pandemic.