ABSTRACT
On January 30, 2020, COVID-19 was declared a public health emergency of international concern and quickly spread around the world due to the international mobility of travelers. On March 11, 2020, COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization, which then resulted in the shutting down of economies, lockdowns, and other restrictions. Small businesses have been particularly affected by the pandemic due to the need to shift rapidly to a digital platform. Although these changes resulted in hardship, they also offered a way for small businesses to be a vehicle for entrepreneurship as they provide new ideas to gain traction in the marketplace. Entrepreneurship symbolizes innovation and is vital to the competitiveness of the economy particularly in times of crisis such as that occurring with the COVID-19 pandemic. The benefits of entrepreneurship include its contribution to economic development and job creation, which is particularly needed in times of upheaval and change. Small business entrepreneurs are not a monolithic category as they are diverse and have individual characteristics. This means the way they respond to the COVID-19 crisis differs depending on their industry and geographical characteristics. The increased interest in small business and COVID-19 entrepreneurship is fed by the rapid changes that have taken place in society. This is due to the participation of small business entrepreneurs in the market being needed in this time of rapid change.
