According to data from Mastercard’s 2022 Borderless Payment Report, seventy-seven per cent of small and medium-sized businesses in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa are planning to do more business internationally.
Two in five (46%) SMEs in the EEMEA region are making more money now than they were before the pandemic, according to the report. Online business and international sales are the main drivers, with 71% of SMEs reporting above-average growth in online sales.
Over 3,000 small businesses from around the world were surveyed for the report’s research, which showed that 75% of SMEs had to alter their business models to survive the pandemic while 64% of respondents worldwide believed the pandemic had permanently altered their industry.
Additionally, it said that the pandemic had pushed digital transformation to take advantage of global prospects, with nearly half (49%) of EEMEA respondents reporting that they now conduct more business abroad.
It said, “Three-quarters of SMEs say the pandemic forced them to seek growth opportunities beyond their national borders.
“The results: six in 10 say international sales allowed them to grow their businesses during the pandemic. In China, India and Mexico, this was true for more than three-fourths of SMEs responding. Most of these companies believe the new international focus will be permanent.
“Most SMEs would not have been able to achieve that international growth without online sales. Nearly seven in 10 say they increased e-commerce sales during the pandemic. In India and Mexico, that share is more than eight in 10.”
The Executive Vice President, MasterCard, Stephen Grainger, said, “The unprecedented disruption introduced by the pandemic has realigned regional and global economics, with many SMEs looking keenly towards prospects in new markets.
“With small businesses in EEMEA and across the world growing their international customer and supplier networks at pace, especially online, it’s crucial that financial institutions have the right cross-border solutions in place to support them. Cross-border payment systems must become faster, cheaper and more secure.
“Through a single point of access, MasterCard Cross-Border Services, allows businesses to send and receive money safely and with the certainty they crave.”
