Firm Resilience to Shocks and the Role of Credit Access in Colombia

This paper analyzes the resilience and recovery dynamics of Colombian micro, small and medium enterprises after the COVID-19 pandemic using firm-level survey data from 2020–2021. We examine heterogeneity by sector, size, and ownership (women-owned/led vs. others) and assess the role of credit access in supporting the recovery.

Recovery was uneven: employment gains were modest while job losses persisted, with medium-sized firms rebounding more strongly than microenterprises. Services and industry led employment growth, commerce lagged, and firm digital adoption declined overall as we moved away from the pandemic. Using multiple recalibrations of propensity score matching, we find that credit access significantly improved firm outcomes, increasing the likelihood of workforce maintenance and growth (~5 p.p.)and economic resilience and growth (~6 p.p.).

Effects were driven by those observed for women-owned/led firms (~13 p.p.) and SMEs (up to +11 p.p.), while microenterprises showed limited gains. Results underscore the importance of financial access and targeted policies to support vulnerable firms during systemic shocks.