Newsroom
Impact of COVID-19 on small and micro enterprises, unregistered businesses
News First
Aneetha Warusavitarana, Research Manager of the Advocata Institute, was featured in the News1st English Prime Time Bulletin that was aired on the 04th of May at 9.00 PM. Discussing the impact of Covid-19 on small and micro enterprises, Aneetha weighed in on certain stakeholders such as unregistered businesses that remain invisible to policymakers and government officials.
“Even though Sri Lanka is seeing a relaxation of curfew measures, it will be a while before the economy opens fully and returns to a pre-Covid level of activity. Business registration is vitally important within this context as it is a prerequisite to opening a bank account, being eligible for formal assistance and even applying for something like a curfew pass.”
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Verified browser-caption segment: 2026-09-06. News1st examines how unregistered businesses can miss out on COVID-19 relief. The segment, citing Advocata research, connects complex registration procedures with barriers to bank accounts, formal assistance and permission to operate during curfew, and highlights the vulnerability of small and micro enterprises when support is restricted to registered businesses. Watch the source segment (1804–1910 seconds).
