A whopping 97 per cent of Nigerian businesses recorded losses during the lockdown over Covid-19 while 87 per cent said they have been negatively affected overall by by the pandemic, a nationwide survey has shown.
Titled the "National survey report on the impact of COVID-19 on Nigerian private sector," the survey assessed the impact of the pandemic on medium and small scale businesses in Nigeria.
More so, the report found that 72 per cent of the businesses surveyed experienced a contraction in job creation due to the pandemic, which has in turn resulted in them reducing staff strength.
Yet, the report said the inability of businesses to maintain their payroll has been further compounded because 60 per cent of the country's private companies said they do not have any insurance policy or risk management system on their radar.
Also, there is a need to ratify the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCTA) as the survey found that only 19 per cent of Nigerian businesses source their products and raw material from African countries.
