Businesses in Sonora have adopted a number of strategies to survive the pandemic-induced downturn, and they’ve done it without a lot of help from the government.
Those are some of the findings of the second phase of a major ongoing study, with responses coming in from over 500 businesses in August and September. Many have reduced hours or furloughed employees, but they’ve also been forced to innovate: Nearly a third are looking for clients in novel places, and implementing online sales, among other measures.
“It seems to me that businesses, starting with the pandemic, are going to begin an intense process,” said Humberto Garcia, a Nogales-based researcher with the Colegio de la Frontera Norte, a research university based in Tijuana. “The digitalization of their processes will allow them to reduce costs.”
Garcia and his fellow researchers also found that roughly three-quarters of businesses have received no government support during the pandemic. For some, that was due to a lack of interest, but for many others it was because they did not meet qualifications or resources ran out. One of the most important supports would be access to cheap, flexible credit, Garcia said.
Respondents also said that it would take an average of slightly more than 14 months to return to the level of business they had before the pandemic, according to the study. A PDF of some of its main findings can be found below.
