The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has hit micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) particularly hard. In this context, polices designed to stimulate their growth and to defend competition now play a key role in tackling the effects of the crisis and in the path to recovery. To respond to the new demands and needs resulting from this crisis, the institutions responsible for the design and implementation of these policies have had to face new challenges, rethink their approaches and quickly devise creative new methods of operation. This document summarizes the research conducted by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) on these issues. The lessons learned by public institutions show that there are various forms of innovation which, if economic actors were to leverage them, could result in a lasting improvement in the actions to support the productive sector.