Purpose – to examine the Latvian micro-enterprises having indicated the external financing as an important factor for their development.

Research methodology – the results of the ad hoc survey (WAPI) on companies registered in Latvia in nationally de-fined sectors are used. Valid responses were received from 2.511 companies, of which 1.879 were micro-enterprises, the results were processed by using the SPSS programme.

Findings – micro-enterprises that have not received the necessary external financing in previous years were less sus-tainable in the later period. Of the liquidated micro-enterprises examined, 16% were closed in 2020.

Research limitations – the study highlights the impact of the availability of finance factor on the survival of micro-en-terprises.

Practical implications – the findings are useful for business support policy makers to identify preventative measures to ensure the resilience of micro-enterprises in times of economic turmoil when the spread of the Covid-19 has affected economy.

Originality/Value – although scientific research on the need for financial support for companies has already been con-ducted in recent years, our study emphasizes the importance of access to finance for micro-enterprises.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3846/cibmee.2021.636