A new survey from BigFive Digital has found that nearly half (43%) of business leaders in the Africa and Middle East local digital ecosystem believe it will take a year or longer for commercial activity to return to pre-pandemic levels. And of that number, 6.2% say they believe economic activity will never return to pre-pandemic levels.
About one-quarter of survey respondents took a more optimistic view, with 7.1% saying recovery will take three months or less. And another 19.2% saying things will be back to normal within six months.
The "Legacy of Lockdowns" study surveyed 342 respondents across media, banking, telecom, software, agencies, and other relevant sectors during July and August. Respondents represented MENA, East/Central Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Nearly 75% of respondents represent companies that do business with SMMEs.
Here are some of the comments we heard from respondents:
“Depends on how quickly an effective vaccine can be produced”
“Depends also on the general availability, and accessibility, of the vaccine”
“Depends on how Governments respond”
The respondents hold influential roles within their organizations. More than half (51.5%) held leadership (C-suite), sales, marketing, or product development roles.
Other questions addressed in the survey include: