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Want small businesses to succeed? Enable them as problem-solvers
After the 2008/2009 Great Recession, it took a decade for US small businesses to really start growing. But only about four months after COVID hit. Why?
Tom Sullivan, VP for VP of Small Business Policy at the US Chamber of Commerce, gave two reasons during a livestream conversation on small businesses and post-pandemic recovery hosted by GZERO Media in partnership with Visa.
First, he said, small businesses are problem-solvers. Second, the government has now learned to become an enabler, not an inhibitor, by partnering up with small businesses.
"Doubling down on that partnership model is what it's gonna take to really keep that upward trajectory of small business growth on the right track."
Watch more: How can small businesses thrive after COVID?
Want Africa to grow? Get people and businesses online: Africa expert
There's a big opportunity for African countries to take advantage of the pandemic — if they can get online. "Greater internet connectivity can accelerate growth in tremendous ways," says Eurasia Group's top Africa analyst Amaka Anku. One of them would be formalizing the informal sector, which is very large and hard to tax: "It's much easier if people are paying using digital payments," she explains, but governments also need to do their part by cutting red tape to encourage investment.
Anku weighed in during a Global Stage livestream conversation hosted by GZERO Media in partnership with Microsoft during the 76th UN General Assembly.
Learn more: Should internet be free for everyone? A Global Stage debate