The ongoing global pandemic which has caused most of the world to go into lockdown has tested the resolve of nations to find order in chaos. As the old adage goes, the show must go on. While countries like New Zealand have managed the outbreak of the virus smoothly and virtually turned the country into a “safe haven”, it has not escaped the brush with the virus entirely. The virus and the lockdown has had its economic impact here as in other nations. It is another matter that the leadership of the country is leveraging its “safe haven” status as a major reason for the world to invest in New Zealand.
In any case business at some level was always carrying on and continues to do so albeit with greater intensity now. For instance, if you are a businessman or woman who is transferring money to Australia, you can easily do so by using the services of an international money transfer company as found on the comparison site MoneyTransfers.com. That idea that the government is concerned about the situation is borne out of the fact that it has invested $25 million to hasten the trial and deployment of innovative solutions to help revive the economy impacted by Covid-19.
This is in addition to the Prime Minister Jacinda Arden promoting New Zealand as a safe haven for overseas investment. According to her, the country is well placed to bounce back economically in comparison to other nations. This is due to a number of reasons:
- The fact that New Zealand tackled the menace of CoronaVirus head on and achieved considerable success.
- Brand New Zealand has traditionally been an attractive international investment destination- a fact that can be reiterated in the post pandemic world.
- Global recognition of New Zealand’s deft handling of the situation, including Microsoft who have decided to build their first data center in New Zealand.
The challenges facing the economies of nations around the world revolve around the need to adjust to a post pandemic world. Let’s take a look at the kind of adjustments that businesses around the world are having to take in the post-corona world.
Teleworking Seems to Be The New Normal
All manner of businesses are having to resort to work-from-home mode where meetings are largely being held via video conferencing software, such as Zoom. This is something that may stay with us for much longer, after the pandemic has subsided. As of now, people are using such technologies to manage everything from yoga classes to student/employee meetings.
Altered Business Culture and Identity
The fallout of any crisis can pan out in a number of ways. People can come together as a cohesive unit and learn to work better together or they can grow distrustful of each other and focus on their individual interests. How one’s organization evolves during the course of a crisis depends on its values. These will be put to test during the course of the pandemic, and how these evolve will determine the direction that the organization will take in the near future.
Startup Opportunities Present Themselves
There are a lot of startup opportunities that the present ongoing pandemic presents to those with a keen business sense. Some of these are temporary ones, whilst others are long-term. Start-up cleaning or janitorial services could provide great short-term opportunities for those with expertise. One could even take up employee screening services in light of that becoming more or less mandatory for most companies to have.
Moreover, one could get into the business of supplying fashionable face masks, since these are going to be items of daily use for a long time to come, even creating branded masks for corporates.
Doorstep Delivery Services Boom
These have certainly received a leg-up during the lockdown with most people getting used to doorstep delivery. This is likely going to become a long-term business opportunity with the market leaders looking to carve out ever larger market shares for themselves. The smaller players could target niche delivery services.
Cyber Security Becomes More Important
With more and more people using the remote way of working via applications, there will be a tremendous surge in the demand of cyber security to cope with an enhanced level of cyber attacks. Businesses that work with this space can expect to receive funding from financial investors in the post-pandemic season.
Online Businesses Again Soar
With regular brick and mortar businesses coming under a cloud, e-commerce may receive a tremendous filip. These days, businesses can sell their products in any corner of the world thanks to the ubiquitous presence of the internet and online international money transfer services.
Sports and Entertainment Looks To Esports
Sports and entertainment in the post pandemic world are definitely going to have an electronic flavour. With traditional cinema and sports events in a limbo, streaming services like Netflix and online gaming are seeing much enhanced traction. That is the sector that savvy businesses could look at. There are sure to emerge some iconic brand names from the churning that the world of sports and entertainment is witnessing currently.
Conclusion
While the ongoing pandemic is an immense challenge, both from the healthcare and business point of view, it does present the world with an opportunity to fix what is wrong with the present systems. Like all crises that mankind has collectively faced in the past, this one will also lead to something infinitely better.
