Meta conducts survey to examine SMBs on Facebook

The survey focused on the minority-led SMBs, women-led SMBs and the ongoing effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the SMBs in 30 countries and territories.

According to the survey, 77 per cent of SMBs in Pakistan using the Facebook platform reported that they were operational or engaging in revenue-generating activities in Pakistan.

Further, 26 per cent of operational Pakistani SMBs using the Facebook platform reported that their sales in the past month were higher than the same month last year, while 52 per cent reported their sales to be lower.

The pandemic has had a severe effect on the business activities around the world, the same goes for Pakistan where 44 per cent of operational SMBs on Facebook reported they had reduced the size of their workforce as a result of the pandemic.

Around 49 per cent of the Pakistani operational SMBs using Facebook reported making at least 25 per cent of their sales digitally in the past month, while 21 per cent said they were confident in their ability to continue operating for at least 12 months, if current circumstances were to continue.

The survey also discussed the challenges facing SMBs, where 20 per cent SMBs using the platform expected challenges related to cash flow and 22 per cent expected challenges related to a lack of demand in the next few months.

The women-led SMBs were also surveyed as 75 per cent of women-led SMBs globally on Facebook reported that they were operational or engaging in any revenue-generating activities, compared with 83 per cent of men-led SMBs.

Globally, 29 per cent of operational, women-led SMBs on Facebook reported that the sales in the past month were higher than the equivalent month last year, during the pandemic, and 29 per cent of operational, men-led SMBs using Facebook reported the same.

Some businesses saw a decline in sales, the survey showed as 46 per cent of operational, women-led SMBs globally reported their sales in the past month were lower than the same month the previous year, and 46 per cent of operational, men-led SMBs reported the same.

The survey showed that 10 per cent of operational Pakistani SMBs on Facebook said they have received financial assistance in the form of a cash grant or loan from a government source since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, compared with the global average of 21 per cent.

The survey of SMB owners and managers, conducted on the Facebook platform, included a minimum of 269 respondents in Pakistan.