In years to come, we’ll remember the eerie streets during lockdown, the permits we needed to go to the supermarket, the balcony cheers for frontline workers and how many business owners faced the toughest challenge of their lives.

Newsfeeds were clogged with the latest COVID updates and the human stories of businesses, struggling to stay afloat. The backbone of the community, small business owners were forced to take a hard look at the services they offer, some didn’t survive and others found support from the local community when campaigns like ‘where you shop matters’ by Visa encouraged residents to shop local and provided support for small businesses who sought to advance their e-commerce and digital services.

Read:‘Where You Shop Matters’ Tells The Heartwarming Stories Of Local Business Owners Most Impacted By COVID-19

Dubai followed the story of businesses like KidzApp which, like so many others, went from their very best month… down to zero AED in one month

https://www.facebook.com/lovindubai/posts/3158416214272912

Even the best-loved restaurants in the city, like Al Fahidi’s Al Ustad Special Kebab, were faced with its toughest economic challenge since opening its doors 42 years ago

https://www.facebook.com/lovindubai/posts/3186258778155322

Homegrown Dubai businesses that were beginning to get off the ground, were forcefully stopped in their tracks

https://www.facebook.com/lovindubai/posts/3209087399205793

Business growth slowed and ultimately, companies were forced to let people go

https://www.facebook.com/lovindubai/posts/3211897485591451

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Citywide, people united in an effort to support locally owned businesses

And support came in many forms. Whether you shared a snap on social media to spread the word about a business or chose to support by shopping locally, and Visa lent a helping hand too.

Visa is offering several programs to help businesses accept digital payments, enable websites for eCommerce, digitally transform back-office operations and meet increased consumer demand for cashless payments – both online and in-store. All part of the initiative to keep local businesses stable during this tricky time.

To get the economy moving once more, local businesses NEED your support

Our ‘Where You Shop Matters’ initiative calls on consumers – who are able to help – to support local small micro businesses by utilising their spending power and influence to help their favourite local small businesses stay afloat. For our economies and societies to thrive again, it is imperative that these merchants bounce back. After all, we are all in this together.

Via Marcello Baricordi is Visa’s General Manager for the Middle East & North Africa

See all the local businesses that took part here

Interested companies can learn more here