Some of the greatest victims of the COVID-19, at least in economic terms, were small enterprises and it seems that their path towards recovery will be a challenging one.

The real impact of the crisis is evidenced by the large quantity of businesses that were forced to face closure. According to data, over 32,000 went bankrupt, of which 98% were small enterprises.

Those that remain are facing countless challenges. Euronews Albania met with some of the owners to discuss with them some of the difficulties they have encountered.

“These months we had no work at all, we are all the same”, said one of the owners we interviewed.

According to data from the General Directorate of Taxation, small enterprises were worst hit during July, as their number dropped to 53.600 during this month.

The closure of these small enterprises has left over 42,000 unemployed compared to February when the country went into lockdown.

In total, 9% of the Albanian labor force lost their job during the COVID-19 pandemic, excluding workers employed in the agriculture sector.

73% of those who lost their jobs were employed in small businesses.

However according to data, small enterprises were already on a downward spiral well before the crises caused by the pandemic.

The majority of the business owners we interviewed said that they hope that the government will shift its attention towards them, in order to avoid a further deterioration due to COVID-19.

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