To ensure strict compliance of social distancing guidelines, a Bangalore-based start-up, Intugine Technologies is helping government officials monitor a large number of home-quarantined individuals as the nation ramps up its efforts to contain the COVID-19 spread. The most important part of their solution is that it does not require the installation of any mobile application and can work even on feature phones. Using SMS, the user consent is recorded and the tracking is initiated.
Already live in five states including Goa where the company has launched a mobile application Covid Locator to suit the demographic. The state governments are using the solution to monitor COVID-19 quarantines in specific regions, the solution is helping officials monitor tens of thousands of cases on a single dashboard. This has helped reduce the workload on the ground teams significantly while ensuring a more effective way of ensuring adherence. The dashboard is accessible to the officials and the COVID-19 control room to facilitate real-time decision making and monitor the home-quarantined cases. The location data is stored securely on cloud servers, thereby ensuring that the privacy of individuals is not compromised. The tracking stops automatically after the quarantine period ends. The start-up is in talks with government officials to deploy the solution in other states of the country as well.
Intugine is a Logistics Technology company, providing real-time tracking and supply chain optimization solutions to the likes of Philips, Flipkart, Mahindra Logistics, Arvind Mills, Arvind Fashion and many more. Intugine’s end-to-end platform includes route planning & vehicle allocation, digital indenting, in-warehouse tracking, in-transit tracking, electronic PoD, and data-driven planning. Intugine’s Location Intelligence platform already tracks lakhs of truck movements every month and is repurposed to track the home quarantines in the light of the COVID-19 crisis. Intugine tweaked their logistics solutions, including their ‘Mobile Number Tracking‘ solution to help government authorities track movements of the home-quarantined people and detect any possible breaches. The tech works on basic phones as well, covering 95%+ of the Indian Mobile Phones.
Intugine Technologies Founders
The founding team behind Intugine includes Harshitv Shrivastava, Ayush Agrawal, and Mrinal Rai, who come from IIT Kharagpur and SRCC. They raised an undisclosed amount from IPV and some angel investors in 2019.
To maintain mandated confidentiality, the names of some states have not been mentioned.
The founders stressed on the importance of private ventures backing the government in these troublesome times. As they put it, effective use of technology can go a long way in containing the situation.
Harshit Shrivastava: With social distancing being the only effective option to contain COVID-19, we believe that an effective monitoring solution can be of great help at this point. With our location intelligence platform, we are enabling authorities to monitor thousands of quarantines at once, in an effective, least intrusive and scalable manner.
Ayush Agrawal: Our logistics platform fits seamlessly in providing a solution to the COVID-19 monitoring. As we got positive feedbacks in detecting the breaches of home quarantine, we started reaching out to multiple state governments for large-scale implementation.
Mrinal Rai: Once the lockdown ends it’s going to be very crucial to identify COVID hotspots based on population movement and density and do effective contact tracing to avoid the next wave of infection. With our location intelligence algorithms and data mining technologies, we are building tools to do such analysis and tracing at scale.
Apart from being a threat to public health, COVID-19 has also emerged as a threat to the global economy. Indian Government has put restrictions on regular movement, malls, public spaces, offices. Everything except essential things has been locked down. During this time of uncertainty and unrest, small businesses have been hit the hardest.
Flight, hotel booking firms are the worst hit. Whereas, at the same time, video conferencing providers and online education companies, messaging platforms and of course healthcare & pharmaceutical companies are witnessing a boom in demand but the situation has become for worse for the startups & small scale businesses as they have limited sources and capital.
Indian benchmark indices (BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty) have fallen over 20% this month with foreign investors pulling out around Rs. 38,000 crores fearing recession Analysts predict that the impact of coronavirus in India will shave off 0.5% of India’s GDP growth in FY21. The impact on Indian trade alone is estimated to be more than Rs 34.8 crores.
These macroeconomic headwinds have already affected sale of white labelled goods which contribute half of the GMV of ecommerce companies. Retrenchments and downsizing in the startup ecosystem have started to accelerate as businesses take a hard look at steep operational costs and dipping demand in an uncertain environment made worse by the Covid-19 pandemic. Oyo, Bounce, Udaan and Drivezy have begun laying off staff.
While India has taken early measures to contain the virus, there is still uncertainty around how long this pandemic might last. Governments in Europe and USA have already announced aid packages for small businesses and India might have to go down the same route to revive the economy.
How will small businesses survive during Corona Virus outbreak
We have asked few companies how small companies can survive when Corona Virus has affected the economy and so many businesses around the globe.
Rising Sun
Inatur Ayurveda & Aromatherapy manufactures Organic and Natural skin, hair care and wellness products. These are safer, eco-friendly, and more effective skin care products. Lets get views of Ms Pooja Nagdev, Founder and CEO, on how will small business survive during Coronavirus outbreak. The Coronavirus crisis presents the economy and businesses with challenges but also with some opportunities. All of us have got time now to review and reflect. This is the time to plan new strategies, check all costs and overheads. Small businesses will have to cut down unnecessary costs and expenditures in order to be profitable.
Indi Collage
Indi Collage is a Fractional Retail platform. It helps brands expand into new markets without the overheads of expensive retail spaces. We talked to Anuradha Singh, on how will small business can survive during Coronavirus outbreak. We are focusing on building a base & giving flexible options to our customers to take later tentative dates for booking their popups at our spaces.
Zamit
Zamit is an information, engagement and interaction platform that networks schools, students, teachers, parents, and school service providers. We talked to Aarul Malaviya, Founder, on how will small business survive during Coronavirus outbreak. Coronavirus has created a deep global recession across the world. In case of the Indian market, all the small businesses will suffer a short, serious but not catastrophic recession. Consumers should help these small businesses in any possible way they can since they’re the driving force for these businesses.
Tax relief is something which will help in relieving a major amount of pressure from these small business owners.
All the business owners need to opt for extra cost cutting in their businesses which includes- minimized travel, cancelling any non-essential subscriptions, reduce online sponsored posts, reduce or eliminate meetings to reduce expenses, pause any large costs that could be undertaken at a later stage.
They also need to set clear and realistic business plan and at the same time, motivating the employees to pull this off together as a team and irrespective of mode of working, every employee should be there to help each other as in when it is needed to keep the boat floating peacefully.
CASA EXOTIQUE
Established with an urge to deliver incredible experiences, Casa Exotique has redefined a new benchmark for remarkable interiors and exquisite finishes. We talked to Ms. Bhawana Bhatnagar, Interior Stylist, Founder, on how will small business survive during Coronavirus outbreak. Needless to say, this outbreak is detrimental to the economy – especially the small business firms that do not have very deep pockets to support their staff without doing business in the time of this crisis.
To survive this pandemic, there is a need to have open communication with the staff. Everyone can pitch in their ideas on how to keep the business running in such a tough time. By starting the chain of dialogue, more innovative ideas would come to light and effective plans can subsequently be put into place.
Obviously, if the situation gets worse, work from home will probably be the only option. Businesses that are based on IT infrastructure would find it easier to manage work than the ones that require fieldwork. Alternate working hours can be one option for such firms.
The time is beckoning to the employers to put contingencies and crisis management plans in action. Those who have worked out such plans would be at an advantage in the coming months in terms of managing their business.
121 Experiences
121 Experiences is India’s first ever out of the Line agency. 121 Experiences specializes in experiential brand communicating solutions to drive behaviour changing consumer habits. We talked to Aniket Sharma, Co-founder & CEO, on how will small business survive during Coronavirus outbreak.
All small businesses will need to learn to optimise their resources.
Maintaining transparency with the internal employees and customers can help with innovate solutions.
The spirit of survival is going to be the key, staying positive will help think straight in these times of difficulty.
Collaborating with competition instead of cutting costs will be pivotal to sail through together instead of trying to on up the other.
MyStarHub
In their endeavor to create the most authentic and memorable fan experiences across the world, MyStarHub provides a platform where fans can book personalized video shoutouts from their favorite celebrities. We talked to Swapnil Mahajan, Founder, on how will small business survive during Coronavirus outbreak.
Even though the Coronavirus has a negative influence on the market worldwide, it has also opened up doors of opportunities for smaller and unconventional businesses in the longer run.
In situations like this, the reliance of overseas suppliers will decrease and demand for local products will increase. Also with limited resources in hand, these small scale businesses, in particular, will innovate ways to survive the uncertainties and bounce back.
Besides this, the government aid and relaxations will help a lot of small businesses manage funds to keep the business going.
Dineout is India’s largest Dining out and Restaurant tech platform, helping more than 17 million diners monthly discover new restaurants, reserve a table, pay for their bills and get offers and discounts combined with a SaaS product offering to its restaurant partners manage their operations. We talked to Ankit Mehrotra, Co-founder & CEO, on how will small business survive during Coronavirus outbreak. We work with more than 40,000 restaurants in India, and the common concern right now is that since no one knows when this will end, there is no way to evaluate the potential business impact. However, it is also severely impacting the bottom line of small businesses like restaurants since their dining operations are temporarily closed.
We are advising our partners to look for ways to stay connected with their customers by means of adding flexibility in their operations. By offering a discount on take-home orders, free delivery, using popular delivery services and special discounts for its existing members opting for home deliveries.
While, no one knows how much longer this situation is going to persist, the one thing that has emerged from this crisis is the absolute need of technology! We’re working closely with our restaurant partners to support them with our B2B technology products in effectively managing deliveries.
We are also preparing for when this pandemic subsides and it’s business as usual to help our restaurant partners get back up and running powered stronger by technology.
Packman Packaging
Packman Packaging is one of India’s largest manufacturers of corrugated boxes, corrugated rolls, bubble rolls, bubble pouches, courier bags, POD jackets, duct tapes, e-commerce shipping bags and more. We talked to Gaurav Jalan, Director and Founder, on how will small business survive during Coronavirus outbreak.
No doubt coronavirus has impacted several businesses. But one needs to think about the bigger picture. Yes these are hard times particularly for small businesses. But with proper information and following certain guidelines they can survive it too.
If you take an example some markets in Mumbai have decided to work on alternate days just like an odd even program. One day markets on right and on other day the shops on left will remain open. This is a good concept and also ensures time to time income is generated. But yes cannot rule out certain degree of financial losses.
Bridged.co
Bridged uses a combination of AI and a 13,000 strong highly skilled workforce to develop unique and vast data at scale significantly improving the quality of data models. We talked to Ashwin Chalam, CEO, on how will small business survive during Coronavirus outbreak.
Here’s an opportunity for businesses to reassess their spending and identify areas of unproductivity. After that, businesses should direct all their efforts into ensuring that their money-making product/service keeps them afloat. Or, they might need to pivot and update their gameplan with new offerings, offerings that a coronavirus-affected market will accept.
Businesses will also have to make difficult decisions such as laying off loyal employees and scaling down on certain perks. But, until the coronavirus phase passes, they will have no other choice but to exercise monetary caution.
St. Angelo’s VNCT Ventures
With a unique approach to real estate development, SAVV Global offers value deliveries, superior design, world class amenities and infrastructure, coupled with timely deliveries and after-sales service. We talked to Mr. Agnelorajesh Athaide, Co-founder, on how will small business survive during Coronavirus outbreak. The pandemic is supposedly estimated to hit the economic growth by up to 50bps in FY 21, with the first two quarters slowing down at 4.4.5%, as per government sources. Although these are tough times, entrepreneurs can actually use this to effectively reflect and strategize the way forward, with a resilient attitude and a winning mindset.
Instead of spending the time counting the losses or panicking over the situation, the slowdown could actually be a boon. It is an opportunity allowing start-up founders to take stock of the situation, envision the market needs and demands after the pandemic is over, and gear up for a fresh start.
From learning new skills, conducting employee reviews, collaborating with new vendors/ chalking out an innovative product, to diversifying the business, the current lockdown can be effectively used as an opportunity by visionary and resilient entrepreneurs.
Skilfinity
Skilfinity is full service Digital Marketing & Analytics Company, with operations in Singapore & India. We talked to Ujjal De, Co-founder, on how will small business survive during Coronavirus outbreak. Now is the time for longevity and surviving the crisis and not trying to use the situation and health scare as an opportunity.
Build community and trust for your brand by giving back in any way possible, to ensure, when this all is over, people invest in your brand.
Evaluate the offline marketing strategy and switch to bring as many online eyeballs as possible for all business, across industries.
Keep calm, be tenacious, support other businesses in any way possible and take the necessary steps so that you come out of this disruption stronger than ever.
Grooming Naturals
Groominh Naturals owns the brand RAWNATURE which is a line of conscious beauty products that is natural, vegan and designed to work within Indian weather conditions and suited to our people. It cover products across skin care, hair care and bath and shower and cater to both men and women. We talked to Mohit Saxena, on how will small business survive during Coronavirus outbreak.
The key to survival will lie in managing what we can control. We will hopefully soon emerge from this crisis but even if we do, it will be far from over as the aftereffects of the COVID syndrome will stay for a while even after it is gone. Some of the areas we as a company need to be focussed on:
PRODUCT LEVEL
Look at our product portfolio and focus on what sells the most (say top 3 products). FOCUS ON OUR HERO PRODUCTS. This will help us reduce slow moving inventory risk and increase sales cycle. Also, the manufacturing will be easier as we will have only 20% of the SKUs that we will largely focus on.
Relook at what people need in this time and if we can offer that as a solution. We make grooming essentials that are natural and clean. For us introducing a line of hygiene products that are plant based and effective will be more important and a natural extension than say a line of skin care. CREATE A MUST HAVE PRODUCT LINE from our portfolio.
The consumers will be a bit wary for a while till the time the influence of COVID goes in the backburner. It will be prudent to GET MORE AFFORDABLE either by changing pack size or by offering more of the product at old price.
ORGANISATIONAL LEVEL
We will need to stay lean – Morally the last option is a lay off in these times. As entrepreneurs, we are responsible to our people and their families. Having said that, even the employees will agree that in these tough times, all hands need to be on the deck. Looking at salaries and minimising it basis seniority will be the need of the hour. Reducing manpower cost v/s the manpower itself should be the 1st priority
A complete freeze on hiring for a substantial period going ahead will also be needed. Multi-tasking, multi skilling and figuring more efficient ways of managing day to day operations using technology or even outsourcing of certain operations will become key.
PROFITABILITY and CASH FLOWS
Post COVID, the need to be profitable will be ‘urgent’. This immediately will become the new buzz word. Not growth rate, not GMV sales, not multiple markets but positive cash flows and profitability.
Plugging leaks in marketing and acquisitions drives, strategic alliances to reduce cost of sales, CRM and customer management, new markets and better GM’s on new products will be areas of focus till this financial winter thaws out.
Reduce all additional costs and go back to being a bootstrapped venture. Shut every single cost head that can be closed and rationalise/minimise the others.
FUNDRAISE
While it may sound contrary to the market sentiment, if your product and business model is solid, fundraise will happen. However, 9-12 months from now this sentiment may change in case the after effect of COVID does not subside. So, we need to get what we can and brace for a longer runway. Since our focus now will be on profitability, this runway can will be substantially longer with the same money than we expect and must be the way ahead till we see the summer again.
Emerging from this crisis will be a gradual process. It’s important to plan appropriately and find various alternate ways of sales and financing.
Hipcouch is an end to end interior design + build solutions startup based in Lower Parel, Mumbai. We talked to Pankaj Poddar, Founder, on how will small business survive when Coronavirus has affected the economy and so many businesses around the globe. Small businesses, as a first measure, have to look really hard at their expenses and trim out anything that might constitute as fat. Secondly, and equally importantly, you have to put in place a business continuity plan coupled with scenario analyses. We have never collectively faced so much disruption and uncertainty on a global level and preserving capital should be the topmost priority.
IoTfy
IoTfy is a #MakeinIndia IoT & AI cloud suite that superpowers consumer durable brands to add IoT capabilities to their device categories. We talked to Arpit Chhabra, Founder, on how will small business survive when Coronavirus has affected the economy and so many businesses around the globe.
At IoTfy we are deploying a futuristic approach to mitigate the impact of the 21 days lockdown, on the business. Given we are a products’ company, we have already started focussing on the next set of features/products that are in the pipeline. The idea is to utilise this time well and invest in future product conception and planning during this period, where most businesses are trying to focus on the recovery aspect. To that end, we have already started planning two quarters ahead and are gearing for the spike in demand IoTfy is expected to witness from the brand partners, who have suffered huge losses on account of the global supply chains being disrupted due to Covid19 outbreak.
Amidst COVID-19 pandemic, corporate offices have shut down asking their employees to work remotely from home. Getting accustomed to working from home will be a task for which employees will need to prepare themselves.
We talked with Khushaboo Jain, Co-Founder and COO at ImpactGuru.com about how to ensure productivity while working remotely. Here are 8 tips given by her to ensuring productivity while working remotely:
How to ensure productivity while working remotely | Khushaboo Jain
1) Creating A Workspace
The easiest thing to do, in order to get into a working mode, is to ensure that there is a designated workspace in your house. This may be a separate room dedicated for the sole purpose of being a home workstation, &/or a pre-existing space that can be turned into a work environment.
Either way, the work area should be clean and free from any clutter, and comfortable enough to not cause fatigue while working. Apart from this, you should ensure that the internet connection is stable and fast enough to allow for swift communication. If your work involves a lot of video calls/conferences, then you should also have decent lighting. Make sure that your background is clear and free from all clutter.
2) Having The Right Tools
After having the workspace set up, the next focus should be on ensuring that one has all the tools necessary to have a productive day. In terms of hardware, most companies are willing to provide laptops to their employees working from home. Any additional requirements such as a mouse or a communication headphone should be readily available. It is important to have all the required
software’s/programs/applications for your work and seamless communication pre-installed in your device.
3) Communication
The primary means of communication during this period will be emails, phone calls, video calls/conferences, and instant messaging. You will need to know how to use these mediums effectively, and also which one is most likely to get a quick response.
4) Know What is The Expected Outcome From You
Get a clear idea as to what the end objective of your task should be. This will let you work more effectively, and reduce the chances of errors that will require revisions later.
5) Setting Timelines
If you are to collaborate with someone for a project, make sure that both have set aside time to communicate and update the other. You are accountable, so ensure that your timeline is set in such a way that you can achieve your objectives for the day, while also having time to make any quick revisions.
6) Avoiding Distractions
Your family, friends, pets and household chores will all be distractions you are not been prepared for. In these situations, you will have to know how to set up boundaries and let everyone know, that even though you are at home, it doesn’t mean you are available.
7) Know When To Unplug
Likewise, it is also important to let your company know when you are available and when you are not. Have a specific time after which you can stop concentrating on work and can get back to your home mentally. Ideally, it can be the same as your punch-out. This will also help you stick to the timeline more effectively.
8) Take Care Of Your Health
Now, more than ever, it is essential for you to take care of your health, both physical and mental. If you feel fatigued at your regular workplace, the options to unwind are limited, but at home, you have more and better options. You could take some time off to exercise, relax or cook.As long as it doesn’t affect your timeline, you are good to go.
For employees working from home now, accountability will be the most important factor when it comes to them being as efficient as they can. With most of one’s travel time cut down, an accountable employee can prepare himself/herself better for work, with respect to health and skills.
ImpactGuru.com is India’s leading healthcare financing platform for patients, raises money online for medical expenses via crowdfunding. It aggregates a large number of online payments to allow any individual requiring financial assistance to raise funds for medical expenses – be it cancer, transplant, accident, or any medical emergency.
About Khushboo Jain:
Khushboo Jain co-founded crowdfunding platform ImpactGuru.com in July 2014 and has served as the company’s Chief Operating Officer. In addition, she heads ImpactGuru’s Communications, Design and Brand teams. Khushboo Jain is actively involved in the company’s marketing and communications strategies, community building activities, the ImpactGuru product users’ experience, and with ImpactGuru’s work with non-profits.
Khushboo was recently featured amongst the Top 15 winning women entrepreneurs at NITI Aayog & United Nations, 2019 Women Transforming India Awards. Khushboo Jain began an entrepreneurial career and co-founded ImpactGuru.com with a mission to help India’s people find crowdfunding solutions for patients struggling to fund critical illnesses.
The number of coronavirus cases has been rising steadily every day not only in India but whole worldwide. The state governments across the country are taking important measures to control the spread of the virus. With the globalized world going into partial or complete lock down over the Covid-19 pandemic, startups in the various sectors are facing a huge stress test and immediate disruption to business as people are encouraged or even forced not to travel. Now much of Indian startup ecosystem has just started to realise the gravity of the coronavirus pandemic as the country goes into lockdown.
Starting as a group of nearly 70 entrepreneurs and investors who had written to the government last week, the “Founders vs Covid-19” group has now become a 600-member crew which includes stakeholders from the healthcare sector, technology industry, the social sector and government. The collective has now transitioned into “Startups vs Covid-19” and is now fighting the coronavirus battle across multiple fronts. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi also announced the “COVID-19 Solution Challenge” to encourage the startups in India to find solution to fight the virus by proposing ideas.
Many entrepreneurs and startups across the world have focused on developing solution to contain the spread of virus. Designers, engineers and programmers are also trying to scale testing through telemedicine, building multistage testing procedures, scaling the manufacturing of test kits and the healthcare infrastructure. It has also built various applications, such as a portal for citizens to report symptoms and a heatmap of the infection based on symptoms reported by doctors.
Many startups are being encouraged to build Products to fight COVID-19
So here are some products developed across the world to cope with novel coronavirus-
Fever-finding Smart Helmet
The Shenzhen-based Chinese tech firm KC Wearable is also trying to increase testing through telemedicine, building multistage testing procedures, scaling the manufacturing of test kits and the healthcare infrastructure. Further, the group also planning for the path ahead which includes planning for Stage 3 of the pandemic or community transmission. The company has developed a smart helmet that can detect people with a fever up to five metres away and indicates with sounding an alarm when anyone with a high temperature comes close.
The headset, which is already used by police in many cities of China including Shenzhen, Shanghai, etc. It also features an infrared temperature detector, an augmented-reality visor, a camera that can read QR codes, plus wifi, Bluetooth and 5G so it can beam data to the nearest hospital. Equipped with facial recognition technology, the helmet can also display the subject’s name on the AR visor, as well as their medical history. According to the developer, it would only take officers two minutes to scan a queue of more than 100 people with the help of the helmets, while one big hospital would only need 10 such helmets to cover every corner of its site.
3D-printed Ventilator Valves
An Italian startup came to the rescue after a hospital ran out of crucial valves that connect oxygen masks to respirators for its ventilators. The hospital in Chiari, in northern Italy hit hard by the virus, had 250 coronavirus patients in intensive care, and was short of venturi valves – which connect the ventilator to a patient’s face mask, and need to be replaced for each patient.
After the original supplier was unable to provide new valves quickly enough, the hospital put out a call for help. Isinnova contacted the manufacturer, Intersurgical, but was unable to obtain a digital model of the part, so its team decided to reverse-engineer its structure themselves. The first prototype was ready within six hours, with 100 working valves printed and supplied to the hospital within a day.
Door handles are said to be among the most contagious places in a building or house. Thus, it is advised to refrain from touching the door handles. Belgian 3D printing company Materialise has designed a hands-free door handle attachment under the slogan “Do less harm, use your arm!”. The design, which has been made available to download for free, consists of two simple parts that can be screwed either side of a handle, allowing you to use your arm or elbow to turn the handle.
UV-sanitising Robots
A Danish company developed a sterilising robot looking like a cluster of light swords on wheels. It can kill virus cells and sanitise hospital wards without the need for chemicals. The eight bulbs on each roaming robot emit concentrated UV-C ultraviolet light which destroys bacteria, viruses and other harmful microbes by damaging their DNA and RNA so they can’t multiply.
The robot was launched in early 2019, following six years of collaboration between parent firm, Blue Ocean Robotics and Odense University Hospital. But recent demand has seen boom in production. A similar device has been developed by Chinese firm YouiBot, which took its existing robot base and added thermal camera and UV-C bulbs for disinfection. It has supplied factories, offices and an airport, and a hospital in Wuhan. This helps reduce dependency on chemical-based disinfectants which require rooms to be left empty for several hours during sterilisation,
3D-printed isolation wards
Chinese company Winsun has deployed its rapid 3D-printing technology for manufacturing 15 coronavirus isolation wards in a single day. Those little cabins were originally designed to be used as holiday homes but seeing the demand from overcrowded Chinese hospitals to cope with Covid-19 pandemic, the company increased production the wards.
The company says it uses recycled construction material in the process and claims its structures are twice as strong as a conventional concrete construction. The buildings, which have showers and eco-toilets, were printed with a robotic arm mounted on rails, gradually depositing layers of concrete to build the walls.
Corona 100m App
Coders have joined the battle against coronavirus, racing to develop apps. In South Korea, virus-tracking apps make up six of the most popular 15 downloaded apps, by far the most popular being Corona 100m. Using the wealth of data collected by the government’s testing programme, the app alerts users when they come within 100 metres of a location visited by an infected person. This app is one of the most crucial things developed to fight Covid-19. It needs to be used in India also.
3D-printed face shield
Czech company Prusa, which claims to have the largest 3D printing farm in the world, with more than 500 printers, has started mass-producing protective face shields used by medics. It is manufacturing over 800 a day and has donated 10,000 to the Czech ministry of health. Another firm, Stratasys, has also developed a 3D-printed face shield and masks. According to its CEO, Yoav Zeif: “The strengths of 3D printing, be anywhere, print virtually anything, adapt on the fly, make it capable for helping address shortages of parts related to shields, masks, and ventilators, among other things.”
Virus-fighting Drones
No one needs to mention the need of drones from preventing people from stepping out of their houses. Many governments have started using drones to keep watch but these drones have been modified with more features to fight the coronavirus. The world leader in drone manufacturing, China has used the mini choppers(drones) for everything from fever detection in crowds to disinfecting public spaces, to delivering supplies to remote locations. Drones have also been used to deliver test samples, dramatically cutting journey times.
In France, the police have started using drones to help enforce its lockdown, monitoring parks and public spaces to make sure people are not leaving their homes for non-essential trips, while, in the UK, Northamptonshire police are planning to increase the use of drones, which will be equipped with speakers to transmit public information messages and tell people to get back indoors. In India too, a Tamil Nadu startup is helping government to disinfect roads & hospitals with drones.
Kerala Health Minister Shailaja KK has proved to be a strong pillar of strength and support in the time of COVID-19 crisis. Kerala’s Asimov Robotics has developed two robots that are to be stationed in the airports. While one robot distributes sanitisers, masks, and napkins to the people, the other robot streams World Health Organisation’s (WHO) campaign videos and also briefs people about social distancing and other steps to be taken to prevent the spread of the virus.
Needless to mention, Coronavirus has affected every aspect of human life. Lockdowns and social distancing particularly has had immediate effect on several banking activities. Thus, at the same time, many efforts are being made to raise funds and help startups and SMEs. Experts in the sector have greatly underscored the need for focusing on digital channels and platforms during times like these. After the coronavirus wiped $7.6 trillion off the world’s stock markets in four days, global health groups are asking companies, governments and even the public for billions of dollars to fight the contagion. The World Health Organization(WHO)set up a website seeking contributions from anyone in an attempt to raise at least $7 billion.
On Tuesday (March 24) evening, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the whole country has been put on lockdown and had announced INR 15,000 Crore package to strengthen the Indian healthcare infrastructure in India. The fund will be used to develop testing facilities, personal protective equipment and procure more isolation beds, intensive care unit (ICU) beds and ventilators. Moreover, the government will be using the fund to train paramedical and medical staff helping in treating affected patients. Earlier in the day, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had relaxed timelines for filing taxes and raising default thresholds for avoiding bankruptcy proceedings. She had added that the government will soon announce a package to address the coronavirus impact on the economy.
In one such efforts, Prime Minster of India, Narendra Modi announced a special emergency fund for the nation to fight crisis like COVID-19 on March 29. Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund), is a dedicated national fund with the primary objective of dealing with any kind of emergency or distress situation, like posed by the Coronavirus pandemic, and to provide relief to the affected. Hours after the announcement, entrepreneurs and celebrities from various walks of life have come together to show their appreciation.
Ratan Tata
Joining a number of India Inc leaders who are doing their bit in their own way, Ratan Tata has committed Rs 500 crore for protective equipment for frontline workers, respiratory systems for treatment of increasing cases and testing kits in the fight against COVID-19. In a tweet on March 28, Ratan Tata shared a post detailing how Tata Trusts and the group companies will help as India battles to contain the spread of COVID-19 crisis. Ratan Tata tweeted, “COVID-19 is one of the toughest challenges we will face as a race. The Tata Trusts and the Tata group companies have in the past risen to the needs of the nation. At this moment, the need of the hour is greater than any other time.” The amount would be used for personal protective equipment for the medical personnel on the frontline, respiratory systems for treating increasing cases, testing kits to increase per capita testing, setting up modular treatment facilities for infected patients, and knowledge management and training of health workers plus the general public.
Following Ratan Tata’s announcement, N. Chandrasekharan, chairman of Tata Sons, announced an additional Rs 1,000 crore in support towards COVID-19 and related activities. He said in a statement, “We will work together with the Tata Trusts and our Chairman Emeritus Mr. Tata and would be fully supporting their initiatives, and work in a collaborative manner to bring the full expertise of the group. In addition to the initiatives articulated by Tata Trusts, we are also bringing in the ventilators necessary and are gearing up to also manufacture the same soon in India.”
Mukesh Ambani
One of the top business tycoons of India, Mukesh Ambanihas also contributed in his own ways. In collaboration with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital has set up a dedicated 100-bed centre at Seven Hills Hospital, Mumbai, for patients who test positive for COVID-19. Reliance Industries Limited is enhancing its production capacities to produce 100,000 face-masks per day and a large number of personal protective equipment for the nation’s health-workers to equip them further to fight the coronavirus challenge. Reliance Industries has donated Rs 500 crore to PM’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situation (PM CARES) Fund to help government in the fight against coronavirus.
Similarly, other companies in India have come forward to contribute. Digital payments company Paytm said it aims to contribute Rs 500 crore to the fund. For every contribution or any other payment made on Paytm using the wallet, UPI and Paytm Bank debit card, the company will contribute an extra up to Rs 10, Paytm said in a statement. Also, Flipkart-owned PhonePe also launched a donation drive and said it aims to contribute up to Rs 100 crore to PM CARES Fund towards fighting coronavirus crisis. Infosys Foundation has also committed Rs 100 crore to fight COVID-19. Uday Kotak, managing director of Kotak Mahindra Bank announced a Rs 60 crore donation. On March 22, Anand Mahindra, CEO of Mahindra and Mahindra also offered the group’s hospitality arm as a medical care facility and said the group will work on how its manufacturing facilities can manufacture ventilators. Engineering and construction giant Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on Monday announced Rs 150 crore donation to the PM-CARES Fund to fight the coronavirus outbreak and said it has set aside over Rs 500 crore per month to support about 1.60 lakh contract workers. JSW Group, an Indian business operating in metals and mining has announced contributing Rs 100 crores to the prime minister’s citizen assistance and relief in emergency situations (PM-CARES) fund in the light of the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak. Paint and decor company, Asian Paints on Monday has announced contributing Rs 35 crores towards Covid19 Relief Fund.
However, startups and small businesses were getting anxious about the support from the government considering the pressure they are facing to keep the operations running smoothly in the light of funds being scarce and market demand being low. This combined with the pressure to plan for remote teams due to the lockdown across India. Amid the country-wide lockdown, startups have been calling for a relief package for small businesses and the startups which are struggling as the coronavirus pandemic continues to hamper daily life. A Reuters report has now said that the India government may bring an INR 2.3 Tn ($20 Bn) relief fund by the end of the week for the poor sections of the population and businesses. For this, various entrepreneurs have showed willingness to help.
Mark Zuckerberg & Bill Gates
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the philanthropic arm of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, has announced plans to team up with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to donate USD 25 million to a research fund exploring possible COVID-19 treatments. Separately, a coalition backed by Bill Gates and Norway is considering a crowdfunding campaign as they seek to attract about $2 billion to speed up development of vaccines. Mastercard and charity foundation Wellcome are also partnering with Bill & Melinda Gates as part of the initiative, which started with $125 million in seed funding at its launch. The goal of the project is to develop affordable treatments to COVID-19 that can be distributed at scale.
In the same way, Facebook wants to help small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) survive the coronavirus pandemic. Now it is offering $100 million in grants to 30,000 companies in over 30 countries. Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook, said on her page on Tuesday (March 17) that the social media giant(Facebook) wants to “do our part” to help with the “enormous challenge in front of us.” To that end, the company is extending a total of $100 million in cash, as well as credits for advertising, to a maximum of 30,000 eligible small businesses.
Similarly, Facebook’s Head of Health Kang-Xing Jin said in a blog post that Facebook is also supporting COVID-19 fact-checkers with a $1 million grant, in partnership with the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN). The funds will be used to launch a program to increase capacity during the coronavirus pandemic. Facebook has also opened a special hub to help SMBs during the pandemic, and is planning virtual training through Blueprint, its free e-learning training program. The company’s goal is to assist companies “in this new and unsettling environment.”
The coronavirus aka COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread with no signs of fading away. Preventive measures taken by the public sector and by global industry are already having widespread effects. Most of the businesses around the world are facing many challenges and lower demands of their services & products. Meanwhile, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has said the global economy may now grow at its slowest rate since 2009.
With the COVID-19 virus spreading to dozens of countries globally, the travel industry is working hastily to both prevent the spread of the virus and navigate through heavy economic uncertainty & slowdown. Now, with the globalized world going into partial or complete lock down over the Covid-19 pandemic, startups in the travel sector are facing a huge stress test as well as immediate interruption to business because public health concern has increased and entire populations are encouraged or even forced not to travel.
Travelers are reconsidering travel plans both to prevent infection and avoid being quarantined. Due to this, airlines are also facing a huge fall in bookings. Airlines have ceased flights to the hardest-hit areas and reduced capacity elsewhere. Similarly, many hotels are empty or facing declining fall in occupancy; conference organizers are losing major events, local tour operators have far fewer customers due to travel avoidance of customers as experts say that there’s no sugar-coating: It’s rough out there right now. Lean times are inevitable for the travel industry – that much is for sure. But among the furrowed speculation and fearful reports, some of the startup founders have been busy formulating ideas and plans catalyzed by the recent crisis.
No to non-essential travel
With restrictions on travel and large business events, many startups, IT majors and corporates have ruled out non-essential domestic and international travel. In a statement, IT major Wipro said: “Wipro has suspended travel to and transit through mainland China, including Hong Kong and Macau, until further notice. Employees have also been advised to avoid non-critical travel to Singapore, South Korea, Japan, and Italy.” As many companies have asked their employees to work from home, it has caused decrease in travel. Asheesh Chanda, CEO of digital wealth management startup Kristal.AI, said all necessary precautions as advised by the government were being taken. “Kristal.AI operates in three locations – Singapore, Hong Kong, and India. Non-essential travel between offices is currently discouraged. We have asked all employees across locations to work-from-home.”
In the same way, many travel tech companies have seen a spike in cancellations. In general the impact is heavy. While some have stated that demand is dropping off a cliff but it’s not as bad as they thought — but it is definitely heavy. Bookings are down by almost half It’s seeing similar changes in booking behavior. Advanced booking has come down drastically. TravelPerk told that it’s currently dealing with a drop in business globally of around 50%.
Lockdown due to COVID-19 has resulted in low demands of bookings
The co-founder and CEO of TechCrunch, Johannes Reck said, “This is the most severe shock that I’ve seen in the last 10 years. The irony of Europe is that we had a fantastic start to the year, consumer sentiment was high, and then it fell off a cliff a few days ago.” An airline trade group said last week that the industry will lose as much as $113 billion in sales because of the coronavirus pandemic. Also, Booking.com withdrew its forecast, citing the worsening impact of the virus on travel.
Here’s some of the useful tips and tricks for staying afloat in these tough times –
Look for bright spots
If your startup has a global focus, look for bright spots of travel demand. Not every area is affected by travel restrictions and flight bans. For instance, depending on your business model and market, one can switch to targeting short journey. Another tactic is to target travelers from areas less affected by the virus. Take a methodical look at current travel conditions and compare that with your target demographics. Wherever you find opportunities, you’ll need to balance pricing with market share and thus customers can be attracted to use your services.
The travel community has a unique perspective with many “boots on the ground” i.e. contacts in different places around the world. So ask your suppliers, distributors, partners what is happening on their end. So, by gathering information from them, your expertise can be utilized to provide customers what they are actually needing at this time. This can help with lowering cancellations while also keeping your team informed on the virus.
Create your USP
Travelers now face uncertainty and lack clarity over when, where, and how to travel due to constraints. If your startup has a unique selling proposition that addresses some of these challenges, work on it! Try to be creative and see how you might be able to apply your product to add new or unexpected value to the current global situation. Or, perhaps there are aspects of your business model that could be improved a bit to increase relevance in these circumstances.
Partner up with others
Now is the time to get creative with partnerships and building relationships. By joining hands with other startups which are also facing the same challenges, new solutions can be found to deal with current circumstances. As you consider potential partners, look for those who may be especially hard in this climate and needing cost-cutting or short-term revenue.
It’s important to remember that no crisis lasts forever and to attempt to look to the future. This isn’t the world’s first recession and it won’t be the last. It’s not the world’s first pandemic and it won’t be the last. The key for entrepreneurs is to keep a cool head about you, don’t do anything and adopt a war footing while your company struggles through choppy waters for 12 to 18 months in the wake of this pandemic. When the crisis recedes and the courts reopen, your company will need to provide an accounting of its obligations and answer for any it has fallen short on in the meantime.
Due to Coronavirus outbreak, every aspect of business is suffering through many problems and challenges. Flight, hotel booking firms are the worst hit. There is stupendous drop in demand of gig economy. Whereas, at the same time, video conferencing providers and online education companies, messaging platforms and of course healthcare & pharmaceutical companies are witnessing a boom in demand but the situation has become for worse for the startups & small scale businesses as they have limited sources and capital.
Effect of COVID-19 on Startups
With reduced revenue and uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, various tech startups not just in India but across the globe are temporarily letting go of workers to help keep their businesses survive during this collapsing economic period. In the past couple of weeks, the situation has become more extreme with a ‘State of Emergency’ being called in some countries, leaving other regions unsure of what’s to come next. Social distancing mandates are forcing businesses to shut down and heavily reduce staff during COVID-19 outbreak. The labour department is facing a rush of unemployment insurance claims which is likely to increase in the next few weeks.
Coronavirus crisis is also affecting many aspects related to startups. For instance, postponing the EU-Startups Summit to April 2021. The EU-Startups Summit gathers over 1,500 founders, startup enthusiasts, corporates, angel investors, VCs, and media from across Europe. The two-day event is a great opportunity for networking, and a meeting point for aspiring entrepreneurs and investors who are aiming to build international tech companies. This summit was planned to take place on May 28-29 this year but now it is postponed to April 2021.
Government’s Aid to Startups
Today, the world is collectively dealing with the spread of Covid-19 and taking emergency measures to contain and eventually eliminate the virus. One such measure was taken by Indian government. Prime Minister Narendra Modi saw the power of the digital medium that can be utilised to serve the country and encouraged many of us to go all out to build a nationwide digital infrastructure. Modi’s ‘Digital India’ mission enabled India to build a robust mobile broadband infrastructure which accelerated the rise of technology startups in a short span of time. This is now coming to play a very vital role in supporting the PM’s call on social distancing while keeping the country moving during coronavirus pandemic.
According to reports, a mega exercise to increase Indian startups’ visibility globally is in the works. For this, the government planning to hire a consulting firm to evaluate the progress of the Startup India programme to chalk out an action plan to attract investment and identify bottlenecks which prevent businesses and high-net-worth individuals from investing in them. The consultant will identify challenges in\ regulatory approvals, taxation, ease of doing business, global expansion and facilitate startups in getting access to markets such as in private and public procurement, both in India and abroad.
COVID-19 Solution Challenge
The government of India has realised the need to open up the search for solutions to the startup ecosystem with the ‘Covid-19 Solution Challenge’. On March 16,2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the launch of the challenge on the Twitter and urged startups and entrepreneurs to come up with their technology-backed solution to curb the coronavirus outbreak. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appealed to public to share any technology-driven solutions for strengthening the fight against COVID-19, saying such efforts can help the government and make public join the mission against the virus.
PM Narendra Modi announced the Challenge on Twitter on March 16
PM Modi said, “Harnessing innovation for a healthier planet. A lot of people have been sharing technology-driven solutions for Covid-19. I would urge them to share them on the government-citizen engagement platform MyGov.in.”
According to the MyGov platform, startups and individuals can send their ideas to help the government in fighting the coronavirus outbreak. Suggestions sent in will be evaluated by the government and some of the ideas will be adopted. The last date of submission of ideas for the Covid-19 Solution Challenge is on March 31. Participants can either send a document or a YouTube video of the idea using the MyGov Platform. The solutions that are deployed by the government will also receive rewards. INR 1 Lakh, INR 50K and INR 25K have been promised to the top three ideas respectively. This amount can be used as funding in startups. So it’s a good opportunity to earn funding just by pitching the idea.
The government said that it has already started to get inputs from individuals and startups that have developed technologies and innovative solutions in areas such as bioinformatics, datasets, applications for diagnostics and more. These technologies are expected to soon become part of the government’s efforts in the fight against the coronavirus.
With increasing cases of people getting infected by the novel coronavirus, a group of entrepreneurs and venture capitalists had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggesting a lockdown starting as early as March 20 across the impacted cities for two to three weeks; to which PM Modi has taken action by implementing Section 144 on account of which only allowed shops can remain open till March 31. So, it has become almost ceased all the operations for startup till March 31.
According to experts, there are still ways to keep the operations going during lockdown too. According to top venture capitalists and entrepreneurs from India and China, overcommunication, keeping a cash runway and having a fixed routine despite working from home are some of the keys for startups to deal with the fallout from the novel coronavirus. While China is returning to normalcy and business as usual, the experiences of Chinese firms and entrepreneurs can serve as a reference point for Indian founders, where cases of the virus are still rising rapidly.
Due to the drastic spread of novel coronavirus or COVID-19, companies are making several efforts to keep their employees safe and maintain the productivity at the same time. Most of companies have asked their employees to work from home. As majority of the people don’t have experience in working remotely, it is difficult for them to stay productive as much as they would be in their offices. Here are the tips for employees to maintain the productivity while working remotely.
Set Up a Routine
The remote work obviously often allows you to set your own hours, a lack of structure or routine can be damaging to your workflow. When you engage in remote work, it’s easy for your colleagues in regular offices to think that you’re always there to “take calls.” It is better to use a digital calendar tool to let co-workers know what your working hours are so that they can know when it’s appropriate to ask you questions or when you should be left alone. One must schedule their hours around appointments, lunch, and other activities just as you would at an office job but it’s also important to pencil those into your calendar as well. Make sure to discuss your remote work hours with your manager before you begin and once those hours are established, make a point of sticking to them. Within that “block” of time, divide out your subroutines. It is essential to make sure that you clearly establish which times you’re receptive to emails, phone calls, etc. and when you’re officially off the work.
Keep Your Workspace Clean
At the end of every day, or at least every week, it’s worth cleaning your office(your workspace). Make sure that you have dedicated space that’s “yours” to work in. It can help you effectively if that space is solely devoted to work only. After a few weeks, you’ll instinctively know it’s time to lock down as soon as you sit down. Throw away what’s unnecessary. It will help clear your mind too. Psychologically, it is proven way to boost efficiency. It is important to keep things at right places. You can start by creating a dedicated and welcoming workspace. Next, invest in the equipment you’ll need. For example – an office chair and desk, a speedy internet connection, a hands-free headset, a good quality webcam for your video conference calls, etc. Creating a cozy and inspiring environment is important too. This is a space where you’ll be spending a lot of time. Give it some love.
Communicate Frequently
When we work in a team, communication becomes extremely important. When in doubt, communicate with colleagues and managers. This will make sure you remain in touch with them. When working remotely, it’s better to over-communicate than it is to under-communicate. After all, your employer won’t necessarily know you’re working, so you’ll need to make sure everyone is aware of what you’re doing. It is advised to keep records or updates on any messaging platform to let other Teammates know what you’ve been up to today. It encourages us to get things done every day and lets others know what we’ve been working on.
Be transparent
When you’re out of sight and people can’t reach you as easily, small doubts can begin to arise. Therefore, it is a must to build trust from the start by agreeing with your employer and colleagues by keeping them updated on your progress and activities. You could propose quick but regular status calls to teammates or a simple progress report that you can send out at regular intervals to your manager. If in case you aren’t going to be reachable for a period of time, provide advance notice to the colleagues who might miss you.
Communication becomes essential while Working Remotely
Use the right tools
The right kind of tools can be game changers when it comes to remote teamwork. Tools like Slack, SmartSheet, Skype, Hangout, Zoom and Google Drive are just a few to name. These tools are really essential because they can help you collaborate on projects and share documents. Now, many of these softwares & tools have cut down their charges. Moreover, they are also providing the additional features. Thus, by using the right video conferencing software like FaceTime, Zoom or Skype, etc., one can stay connected with their team to increase the productivity.
Set goals & meet them
As mentioned above, it is important to create the routine but it is equally important to stick to the plans. Distractions are an issue when you work from home. At the start of the week, determine what hours you plan to work and stick to them. That’s why it’s a good idea to set concrete work goals to keep you focused and moving forward. And while setting goals is important, one must make sure to hold themselves accountable to them too. Use your smartphone for information and not distractions even though you have got liberty use it whenever you want to. When one works with focus & discipline, after completing those goals, it inspires them more to follow the same attitude towards their goals.
Take Breaks
It is the best to mimic from home the same habits you would have if you were working in a physical office such as taking a moment to chat with coworkers or grabbing a cup of coffee at your local cafe. It’s also vitally important to move your body. Don’t sit still for the entire day. Get creative with your breaks and run out for lunch with a friend or take a walk around to get some fresh air. Ideally, try to work out once a day, or at least go for a daily walk. One can rock out at home with a rich playlist to get into the zone. Essentially, anything you can do to give your brain and body a break will be beneficial to your overall experience and productivity. Mentally, too, it’s good to occasionally stop working and move around.
Separate Work from Life
Now that you work from home, the boundaries between work and life will seem thinner. But it’s important to keep those boundaries as interference of either of these would land you in troubles. So, avoid working where you sleep or where you eat. Find a space where you work and only work.
Conclusion :
A remote team can be just as effective, if not more effective, than a local, in-house team. Although it requires some coordination, it allows everyone more flexibility, which can help your team maintain a healthy work-life balance. When done the right way, a remote job can provide both workers and their companies with a healthy balance of freedom, flexibility, and production. Using the tips above can serve as a guide for how to make remote work as effective as possible.
Since the World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the Covid-19 or Coronavirus outbreak a pandemic, many companies are taking precautions against the impact and spread of the virus. The government also plans to close restaurants, bars and hotels nationwide along with non-essential stores. Companies are asking their employees to work from home for their safety. The Coronavirus outbreak has forced companies to slow or halt their physical operations, impacting production in the upstream sector. Meanwhile, downstream operations are upgrading their systems and pushing to work more flexibly. Many industries such as tourism, hospitality, retail, forestry and transport industry, etc. are facing great troubles. While many companies now allow their employees to work at home, telecommuting isn’t an option for many people. Restaurants also had to close except for pickup and delivery service. Also, vehicle manufactures Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler are suspending production until the end of March.
But many people are unable to work due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic as their job or work profile does not allow this work flexibility. This is just making employers cut the jobs as the employers cannot pay the wages. This situation is really severe in many countries. Now, the Coronavirus outbreak is resulting into huge lay-off which is again not a good sign. While there are state and federal measures coming to help those impacted financially, in the more immediate future people can file for unemployment benefits. While some employers are asking their employees to take unpaid leaves as a solution to this. This is all resulting into a global economic slowdown.
Ronojoy Dutta, CEO of IndiGo – India’s largest airline, announced on March 19, that the airline was instituting pay cuts for their senior employees and he would himself take the highest cut of 25 % amid the novel coronavirus pandemic that has hit the aviation industry hard. Also the Apollo Tyres chairperson, Onkar Kanwar announced a 25 per cent cut in their remuneration. GoAir, Indian low-cost airline has already sent 80 of its expat staff home. Vijay Shekhar Sharma, CEO of Paytm, told that he would not take his salary of this month and next. Not only Indian companies but many foreign national companies have also decided to cut off wages.
Many companies are laying off Employees due to coronvirus crisis
U.S. airlines, which directly employ close to 750,000 people, are on edge about how quickly lawmakers will provide aid to the industry, dealing with a collapse in demand. The executives have described this collapse even worse than 9/11. United and its competitors have decided to slash flights, freeze hiring and ask employees to take unpaid leaves. In tourism industry, job losses could reach 67,000 as coronavirus sees international tourism dry up and consumers pocket their wallets. Tourism, hospitality, retail, forestry and transport sectors are all expecting to shed thousands of workers with claims 5000 jobs are on the line unless there is immediate assistance for 65 large tourism businesses facing full or partial closure. Westpac NZ chief economist Dominick Stephens has quoted that the overall unemployment is likely to rise from 4 per cent to 5.5 per cent or 45,000 unemployed people. He further added that the drop in jobs could reach up to 67,000 when “shadow unemployment” is taken into account. Kenya Flower firms have sent home more than 1,000 employees after huge losses following a closed European market.
On the other hand, several companies also promised that they would not cut salaries of their staff and were not considering layoffs in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Rajiv Bajaj, managing director and chief executive officer of Bajaj Auto, has said, “I will cut my salary to zero before a single employee is laid off.” Similarly, other Indian business groups like The Aditya Birla group, the Vedanta group and the Essar group have also promised not to cut any jobs or salaries of their staff. U.S. airlines are asking for $58 billion in government aid, including direct grants.
This unemployment will have direct impact on country’s GDP and will result into much slower economic slowdown. As due to unemployment, majority of the laid off people will totally refrain from buying or using new products or services. This is directly going to affect the economic progress of many nations. According to some reports, new claims for unemployment benefits climbed to 281,000 last week as the coronavirus pandemic shuttered businesses and left people out of work. The Labor Department said that it was the highest level since Sept. 2, 2017, when they totalled 299,000.
Governments are helping companies Cope with Crisis
At the same time, many governments are trying to help the affected businesses & people cope with the coronavirus crisis. For instance, the UK government said that it will subsidize the wages of any worker facing unemployment because of the coronavirus pandemic as it ordered the closure of pubs and restaurants to try to contain the outbreak. Their finance minister Rishi Sunak told reporters that the government will cover 80% of worker salaries for at least the next three months up to a maximum of £2,500 ($2,900) a month. The Danish government announced that it will cover 75% of the salaries of employees paid on a monthly basis who would otherwise have been fired, with companies paying the remaining amount. But as of now, many governments have not taken any action to deal with the issue of lay-offs. It will be interesting to see how Indian government will react to the this phase of lay-off and unemployment.
Coronavirus has now spread to more than 157 countries all over the world and has been declared a pandemic. The number of coronavirus cases have crossed more than 3 million globally. In India, more than 30,000 cases have been registered with 1000+ fatalities. The coronavirus outbreak or COVID-19 has affected various sectors and industries, and many companies have taken the initiative to contain the spread of the pandemic.
Apple shut down its stores in China and other nearby countries for implementing safety measures. The world’s second-biggest fashion retailer H&M has also closed stores Germany and the United States, the biggest markets. It also shuttered stores in Canada, Portugal, and Belgium. In India, the aviation and railway sectors are severely strained under the pandemic with revenues plummeting to record lows. Many airlines in India are unable to generate revenue in spite of lowering ticket prices.
At the same time, the Indian railways has cancelled more than 70 trains for precaution and due to low occupancy. The consequent losses are mind-numbing and severe enough to cause heart attacks. The tourism industry worldwide has taken a severe hit. Many food chains and restaurants are struggling to sustain themselves as people are avoiding going out until and unless it’s an emergency. Not only this, several start-ups are bearing the brunt of the lockdown which is in place. In all, the economy has come to a halt and everything else to a standstill.
On the other hand, the coronavirus outbreak is aiding several countries. The Chinese government gradually shut down public services, schools and several manufacturing plants since the mid of January, giving other countries an opportunity to step up their game in segments like manufacturing . China is the largest consumer and supplier of many products in the world which include spare parts, chemical, toys, lighting, base metals, oil, etc. Many countries, including the US and European Union, import these goods from China.
Economic superpowers and behemoths are now reaching out to other countries to fulfill increasing demand. India is one such country which has seen a surge in exports in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. Due to China’s temporary lockdown, the chemical sector will be amongst the biggest beneficiaries alongside other sectors like textiles, ceramics, sanitary ware, homeware, and engineering goods.
These companies will benefit tremendously during the pandemic
Although the novel coronavirus outbreak is crashing global markets and affecting everything from air travel and the film industry to local businesses, some companies will benefit from this situation. These include firms that sell deep-cleaning products, remote services like Peloton, Zoho, video conferencing tools like Zoom, and Purell, a popular hand sanitizer brand.
According to a report, sellers of some lesser-known products also view the coronavirus as a unique business opportunity. These companies sell gadgets like air purifiers, robots, and even products like spit-shielding hats that help in combating the virus.
Now, some of these vendors are actively promoting the link between their products and Covid-19. The result is strong brand value, publicity, and booming business. Not only this, the demand for face masks has increased significantly since governments, medical experts, and doctors are advocating the use of face masks to protect oneself from getting exposed to the virus.
Sale of Hand Sanitizers has seen a Boom like Never Before
With people more worried about infection and germs, they are running towards disinfectant products such as hand sanitizers, hand wash, cleaning wipes, etc. People are turning to brands like Purell, Lysol, Clorox, Lifebuoy, and Dettol like never before. Consumer demand for hand sanitizers has grown by 1,400 percent from December to January.
The demand is so high that Walmart stores, retailers, and pharmacies are short on stock, e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart are also low on supply, and products are being sold at more than double their market rates. In fact, the black market for sanitizers, disinfectant wipes, gloves, masks, and PPEs is crazy! Manufacturers aren’t shying away from making the most out of the shortage of supplies. Meanwhile, even small firms selling such products are making considerable profits. It’s hard to believe but the shares of Clorox and other drug makers were on the rise in late February despite the economic slowdown.
Even technology companies are reaping massive benefits in these trying times. Many phone and video conference software and tools are in high demand because organizations have chosen to implement work from home across offices and geographies.Famouswork from home software & toolsinclude: Webex – Web conferencing and video conferencing tool. Zoom – Team video conference tool. Skype – Online video calling tool. Slack – Team Communication and collaboration app. Zoho – Web-based business tools. GSuite – Emailing and team communication applications.
There are several other chatting & conference platforms in the fray as well. Due to massive demand, these companies are providing additional features at lower prices. Since a large number of companies are relying on these tools at the moment, this is a golden window for the providers of these tools and software to capitalize on the demand and stand out in the market.
During Lockdown, traffic on Online Streaming platform will see Growth
To no one’s surprise, the demand and traffic on many online streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney Plus, HBO Max, Hulu, etc. have blown through the roof. With strict lockdown measures in place and nothing to pass time, these streaming platforms have become a necessity. Without them, spending the day becomes arduous!
Conclusion
Every coin has two sides and the coronavirus outbreak is no exception. While a number of organizations and companies are reeling from decline in revenues and market value, others are profiting big time and witnessing a windfall hitherto unseen.
