Empowering small businesses in a pandemic: Governance of cross-sector responses

Authors : Anita Djoble-d’almeida, Elizabeth Gianna Boye, Marcel Djoble D’almeida

Pages : 14-20

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Publication Date : 2022-07-01

Article Type : Research

Abstract :Governance of cross-sector partnerships involving the public and private sector actors has been explored in literature. However, little is known about a complicated governance arrangement involving multiple actors including informal sector players and market women in response to a pandemic to achieve an unprecedented outcome. The study focused on the implications of standards and regulations imposed by government and its agencies on small and female-owned enterprises producing PPEs in a partnership arrangement to address the Covid-19 pandemic in Ghana. Following the analysis of data collected qualitatively from 38 participants to explore the phenomenon, the findings concluded suggest that business associations can play a vital role to support and empower small businesses in complicated governance arrangements in a time of crisis. The study recommends that government agencies should be creative in the enforcement of standards and regulations to empower small businesses taking initiatives to respond to a pandemic while sustaining their livelihoods.
Keywords : Governance, Empowering small businesses, Cross-sector partnership, Covid-19 pandemic, Crisis management