Lessons From A Business Event on Impact of Coronavirus Pandemic On Entrepreneurship And Business Ecosystems

Written by: Aderemi Fayoyiwa

 

The much awaited Year 2020 is here! Being a year of anticipation of great things; most people have great plans for personal growth, career development, business goals and other imaginable scope of objectives. Thus, when news about a strange and deadly virus supposedly originating in Wuhan , China, the rest of the World outside Asia didn’t heed too much caution. I personally did not likewise a lot of people I know. 

As Global sensitization about the novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) gathered momentum, I wondered if it was another form of the Ebola virus. The month of February portrayed confirmed Covid-19 cases in other countries in Asia and beyond as the number of casualties rose exponentially. By the middle of March there was a full blown global crisis at hand as a result of Covid-19 . In the countries most affected everything came to a halt with borders being immediately closed and flights grounded. Only essential businesses were open, especially health care facilities. The situation seemed to be straight out of a movie. Unfortunately it wasn’t and this is our new reality and will be for a time span that no one can precisely predict. We are left wondering as to what will become of our plans and goals for 2020. Do we toss them, re-evaluate or just accept the challenge to cope? 

In line with their mission to constantly add value to and represent the African diaspora in Finland, Think Africa organized a webinar on how to keep businesses going in the midst of this pandemic. Four seasoned speakers from Finland, Italy and South Africa talked about practical ways to not only keep businesses afloat but also thrive in such unprecedented times.

Ilenia Vidili (Italy) – founder of Smarter Crew, a customer experience expert, and a business and marketing consultant participated in the Webinar. Ilenia gave insights on customer experience, which constitutes the perception of a customer about a brand or company before, during and after the purchase of a particular product or service. She emphasized the power of customer trust and relationship and how it is important for businesses to maintain such relationships through digitalization. Ilenia also gave a four-point approach on how small and vulnerable businesses can maintain great customer relationships which leads to customer advocacy even after the return of normalcy. 

Firstly, she suggested that businesses remain present and vocal during the pandemic via social media platforms by applying and implementing business-specific approaches. Secondly, she recommended that small or vulnerable businesses educate their customers on how to communicate with businesses and to explain the impact of changes in their mode of operation if any. Ilenia further mentioned that small businesses could and should go an extra length to make direct phone calls to customers enquiring about service provisions and evaluate the necessity to provide current and/or additional services more conveniently to customers. Finally, Ilenia suggested that businesses should reassure customers of their continued value proposition of the company especially during this crisis, and ensure delivery. In this regard Ilenia mentioned the need to think and grow through chaos while involving and engaging customers in the process. According to her, the current global situation presents opportunities for creative exploration that should be embraced and exploited. She advised that businesses should re-evaluate their operations, create digital presence and plan for the future. 

The second speaker from South Africa was Anthony De Vries who is a wealth coach, property development as well as a business and investment consultant. Anthony opined that businesses should leverage on the situation that the Covid-19 pandemic has presented to the world. By dwelling on the basic rule of business – demand and supply, Anthony suggested that businesses should digress from their regular products and/or services to meet the needs of customers using their services and products. He gave an example of a clothing company digressing into mask production which is in high demand; companies using their vehicles for deliveries as well as that breweries and other alcohol producing companies could produce hand sanitizers for addressing the scarcity due to the pandemic. 

For the real-estate investors, Anthony’s expert opinion is that this is not a good time to sell real estate or properties, but a great time to purchase with due diligence. He also thinks that it is advisable to take advantage of low interest rates to refinance properties if necessary . 

Reggie Rusan, who is a board member of British & Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce in Finland and also the founder of SimpleTec Solutions, joined the webinar from Finland. The third speaker who is an enterprise IT expert shared that his clientele is picking up because most organizations and outfits are being forced to go digital and he is required to keep up and ensure customer satisfaction. He also stressed the importance of businesses to maintain active presence on social media platforms to engage their present and potential clients. Reggie advised Finland based migrant entrepreneurs to join the online forum for migrant entrepreneurs (www.yrittajat.fi) in order to gain access to information about government financial aids, remain in the loop and be part of the network.

To those whom the pandemic has prevented from delivering services or selling products, Reggie advised that they use this period to effectively prepare for the time when their services/products will be back in demand. He mentioned that this undesirable break should be a time for them to hone their skills and add more tools to their tool boxes. He also admonished business owners to take care of their employees, saying that it is equally as important as striving to engage and satisfy customers in this period.

The last speaker as well from Finland was Solomon Negash, founder of Addis Ethiopian kitchen in Helsinki. He shared insights about how his restaurant business was restructured during the pandemic to accommodate evolving changes in order to generate continuous income. After the government ordered the closure of restaurants, Solomon had employees who were not engaged in the kitchen make deliveries; saving their jobs and making income at the same time. He advised small business owners to accept government aids and bank offers that are beneficial to revive their businesses. He also advised businesses to allow flexibility in their plans going forward, this is to accommodate unforeseen circumstances like this global pandemic. Solomon shared his observation about information shared in Finnish versus those shared in English. His advice is to focus on Finnish information as much as possible, because of relative accuracy. He cautions that there is always a loss of information when contents are translated from Finnish to English. 

The webinar was well attended, and provided an opportunity for participants to engage in an informative knowledge exchange discussion. I think the speakers did justice to the topic by giving practical and unambiguous tips for businesses to engage customers and thrive both during and after the pandemic. The webinar ended with a fun “Covid-19” themed game which enabled light conversations among participants. 

My sincere appreciation to the Think Africa team for once again organizing another great program adding value to empower the African diaspora in Finland.