Around 18% of small businesses globally reported they are currently closed now, down from 24% in February this year.
Along with releasing the Global State of Small Business Report, Facebook detailed several initiatives to support small and medium-sized businesses in their recovery from the pandemic-influenced losses. The study found that 36% of the global companies reported reduced employment in July, up from 30% in February this year.
Around 60% of small businesses reported some form of difficulty in paying business-related expenses, while more than a quarter was struggling to pay down loans or debts, a quarter to pay bills and 25% of pay rent and 24% to pay employee wages. Additionally, minority-owned SMBs tend to be more severely impacted by the pandemic.
The Good Ideas Exchange – which will take place in October – will bring industry leaders like Facebook and American Express with SMBs to participate in a hackathon to develop situations that can help pandemic-affected businesses. The social media platform has also rolled out two new solutions to support minority-owned businesses and SMBs facing cash flow issues.
Facebook is also launching a new small business funding resource to help bridge SMB owners with business resources. This resource would enable networking groups, purpose-driven grant and loan opportunities. The networking site would further let small business owners access digital skills training resources, networking opportunities and thought leadership free of cost from next month.
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