Can Business Grants Mitigate a Crisis? Evidence from Youth Entrepreneurs in Kenya during COVID-19
COVID-19 was a major shock to youth entrepreneurs and their businesses in Kenya. This paper studies the causal impact of grants—worth two months of baseline business revenue—and business development services as potential mitigation measures. Using...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2021
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/undefined/259881638890834773/Can-Business-Grants-Mitigate-a-Crisis-Evidence-from-Youth-Entrepreneurs-in-Kenya-during-COVID-19 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36693 |
| Summary: | COVID-19 was a major shock to youth
entrepreneurs and their businesses in Kenya. This paper
studies the causal impact of grants—worth two months of
baseline business revenue—and business development services
as potential mitigation measures. Using multiple rounds of
phone surveys up to seven months from the start of the
pandemic, the analysis finds that youth who are assigned
business grants or a combination of grants and business
development services are significantly more likely to
maintain a business, earn more revenue and profits, retain
employees, and report higher confidence and satisfaction
with life. There are no corresponding effects of business
development services alone, although the follow-up period is
extremely short for training effects to materialize. These
results suggest that cash infusion for young entrepreneurs
in times of an aggregate shock can be instrumental in
moderating its immediate harmful impacts. |
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