HONOLULU (KHON2) — COVID and the mounting recession has made it tougher for small and mid-size companies to succeed.
In keeping with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “In June 2021, 6.2 million folks didn’t work in any respect or labored fewer hours as a result of their employer closed or misplaced enterprise because of the coronavirus pandemic. That is down from 7.9 million in Could 2021 and from 49.8 million in Could 2020.”
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The U.S. Federal Reserve mentioned that “about 400,000 institutions closed within the second quarter of 2020 solely to reopen thereafter; these short-term closures accounted for 1.8 million of the practically 3 million jobs misplaced to closures in that quarter. The surge of reopenings within the third quarter, at about 370,000, practically made up for the second-quarter short-term closures; although these reopenings introduced again just one.2 million jobs.”
Sen. Ed Case testified earlier than the Home Small Enterprise Committee on June 29, 2021 and mentioned, “This financial disaster has had a profound impression on Hawai’i’s small companies, that are the lifeblood of my state. Previous to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hawai‘i had 135,567 small companies, roughly 1 enterprise for each 10 folks.”
He added that “though it’s tough to pinpoint the precise variety of small companies we misplaced because of the pandemic, late final 12 months Yelp estimated that properly over a thousand companies in Hawai‘i completely closed due to the pandemic. Sadly this consists of Hawai‘i establishments with lengthy roots locally, like Loves Bakery, Likelike Drive-in and plenty of extra.”
Because of the tumultuous financial situation that has unfolded since March 2020, Mayor Rick Blangiardi mentioned that the Metropolis and County of Honolulu is launching the Oʻahu Enterprise Restoration grant program on Jan. 30 at 8 a.m.
The Metropolis’s Workplace of Financial Revitalization and the Chamber of Commerce Hawai’i are partnering on this enterprise that can convey $10 million in grants to lots of of O’ahu’s small companies. Specifically, it is going to assist these companies that endured a 25 % drop in income or extra throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Considered one of my high priorities is stabilizing small companies as we emerge from the pandemic,” mentioned Mayor Rick Blangiardi. “I encourage eligible Oʻahu corporations which were financially affected by the pandemic to see if they’ll qualify and in that case, benefit from this chance.”
“Small companies are the muse of our economic system and plenty of are nonetheless recovering from the impacts of COVID-19,” mentioned Chamber of Commerce Hawaii President & CEO Sherry Menor-McNamara.
This system will open on-line and can enable as much as 400 companies to use. The grants vary from $15,000 to $50,000 and will probably be based mostly on first come first served till the funds are depleted. The quantity awarded will rely upon income misplaced based mostly on every enterprise’s web revenue for 2020 and 2021 as soon as in comparison with their 2019 reported revenue.
The web site will provide purposes on-line in ‘Ōlelo Hawaiian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Tagalog and Spanish. In the meantime, the Chamber of Commerce Hawai’i will probably be working with enterprise house owners whose first language just isn’t English to make sure they perceive tips on how to apply and have sufficient time to navigate the applying course of.
OER and the Chamber may also be offering a webinar on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 2 p.m. Metropolis Officers mentioned that no account is required to entry the webinar and that those that can’t attend at the moment will be capable to watch the video which is able to stay posted.
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“Because the pandemic has advanced, so have the problems going through our small enterprise group. We’re happy to companion with the Metropolis and County of Honolulu to manage this program. Utilizing federal funding to help small companies is essential to their continued restoration,” added McNamara.
