explain how entrepreneurs
identified business opportunities to sell product/service to reduce the spread of the Covid 19 pandemic
Answers
More than 70% of start-ups have had to terminate full-time employee contracts since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic;
Many entrepreneurial businesses have pivoted to meet new needs for goods or services borne out of the crisis;
The way entrepreneurial business models and approaches are affected by the pandemic will have an impact on how entrepreneurship is perceived as a job choice in the future.
The onset and spread of COVID-19 have left few people, if any, unaffected. Governments the world over have been repeatedly tested and stretched. They have set new rules and norms to try to re-establish confidence and give economies a chance of survival.
Less noticed and discussed, however, is the impact of the pandemic on entrepreneurial businesses. As sources of finance dry up, more than 40% of new ventures will fall into the so-called “red zone” with only enough cash for three months or less of normal operations.
Since the beginning of the crisis, more than 70% of start-ups have had to terminate contracts of full-time employees.
Yet, while a large number of start-ups have suffered during the pandemic, COVID-19 has also led to an increase in entrepreneurial activity. Companies and individuals across the world have rallied to respond to, and where possible, tackle this crisis. From organizers of music festivals overseeing pop-up morgues to automotive companies pivoting manufacturing to much-needed ventilators, there has been a surge in creativity. People and companies have devised new ideas to respond to existing or emerging needs insufficiently addressed by governments and incumbent institutions.
The picture of how entrepreneurs and their systems have been affected is more nuanced than we might, at first, believe, but understanding it is important: how it’s being (re)shaped today will have long-lasting effects.
Government support targeting high-growth start-ups
During times of crisis, government support of industry has always been essential. Think back to Franklin D Roosevelt’s response to the great depression, rolling out the new deal and spending to get America back on its feet. The furlough schemes in the UK and effective implementation of a basic income scheme in the US are modern examples.