Geneva — COVID-19 is having a profound impact on global trade and the businesses that drive it, says a new report by the International Trade Center (ITC). The report highlights the devastating effect the pandemic is having on the small and medium enterprises so important to Africa’s economies. By Peter Kenny, Contributing WriterThe SME (small and medium-sized enterprises) Competitiveness Outlook predicts that African exporters are set to lose more than $2.4 billion in global industrial supply-chain exports. The 2020 edition of the ITC’s 2020 Outlook reveals just how profoundly SMEs and global supply chains have been tested by the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving international trade in turmoil. Health and economic crisisTembo added: “The COVID-19 pandemic has been both a health and an economic crisis and has presented several challenges for SMEs and global supply chains.

Source: Front Page Africa June 24, 2020 17:15 UTC