basic characteristics of borrowers. This dataset covers all KUR loans issued between December 2015 and March 2020 and includes information on over 8 million debtors. Second, we use a unique, quantitative survey dataset that is the largest and only nationally representative data on KUR borrowers to date. Third, qualitative interviews with KUR borrowers enable a deeper exploration of KUR borrowers’ perspectives and experiences. Finally, qualitative interviews with individuals who did not receive KUR reveal some challenges related to implementation and access to KUR.

The unique quantitative survey was collected for this study and includes a nationally representative sample of 1,402 KUR borrowers. To ensure a representative sample and enable subgroup analysis, we used weighted stratified sampling to select firms to interview from the national program database.<sup>16</sup> Strata including less than 1% of KUR beneficiaries were oversampled to ensure that each subgroup of interest would have sufficient representation in the sample to allow precise estimates at the subgroup level, and all analysis in this report incorporates design weights to account for sampling design. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all interviews were carried out over the phone in January and February 2021. All firms were asked modules on basic business information, business practices, workers, revenue, financial history prior to receiving KUR for the first time, and financial history after receiving KUR for the first time. In addition, firms were asked one of two of the following modules: experiences with the KUR program or impact of COVID-19 on the business.<sup>17</sup> To better understand how KUR borrowers with different characteristics perceived and experienced the KUR program, we conducted qualitative interviews with a separate sample of 100 KUR borrowers, drawn from the program database. The qualitative sample was not drawn to be representative and includes KUR borrowers with a variety of different characteristics. These qualitative interviews covered the following topics: perception and information received about KUR, KUR loan application process, use and benefits of KUR loans, business productivity and access to financial services, alternative financing sources available, the impact of COVID-19 on the business, and suggestions for improving the KUR program. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the qualitative interviews were conducted using phone interviews. To avoid challenges of survey length and respondent fatigue, the depth of probing on each topic varied by respondent.

Qualitative interviews were also conducted with 100 individuals who did not receive KUR but who had been identified as potential debtors in the program’s database.<sup>18</sup> Among them, some firms had applied

> 16  Strata included gender of KUR recipient, size of KUR loan, financial institution that issued the KUR loan, and geographic region.

> 17  These modules were not asked of all respondents due to concerns about survey length and respondent fatigue. The modules to be asked were randomly assigned and balanced across sampling strata to ensure all modules included nationally representative information.

> 18  97 percent of individuals in the SIKP who were successfully contacted for quantitative interviews with KUR borrowers had received KUR, so the sampling for these interviews was a convenience sample of entrepreneurs who were screened but not eligible for the surveys of borrowers.

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