COVID-19 pandemic digitisation lessons for rural women-owned Micro and Small Enterprises

The world economy and ecology have undoubtedly been impacted by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic. Female-owned Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs), particularly those operating in marginalised rural economies, are major victims of the COVID-19 outbreak, mostly due to their restricted usage of digital technologies. Digitalisation thus opens up new opportunities for rural women owned MSEs and can help them remain competitive. The study aims to explore COVID-19 pandemic digitisation lessons for rural women owned micro-and small-enterprises. Even though the literature on Women Entrepreneurship is well covered, to the best of our knowledge, the intersection between rural women entrepreneurship and digitisation remains largely unexplored, particularly in African economies. A qualitative approach using personal insights to provide COVID-19 pandemic digitisation lessons for women owned MSEs was used to guide the collection and analysis of the data. The data were collected from a purposive sample of seven women entrepreneurs operating MSEs in the Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality located in South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province and analysed through thematic analysis. The results highlight the critical importance of incorporating digital technology into business operations, stressing the need to prioritize data security, adopting a mobile-first approach, recognising the significance of an online presence, and innovatively developing digital or digitally enhanced offerings. The study's insights provide data-informed insights, as we continue to advocate for inclusive and effective responses to crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. For rural women owned MSEs in South Africa, it is clear that digital platforms have been helpful, and while digitalization alone is insufficient, this research can inform the recovery strategies and policies needed after the pandemic. Key words: COVID-19, digitization, micro-and small enterprise, rural women entrepreneurs