Since the beginning of 2020, COVID-19 has been ripping through countries around the world, throwing health systems and economies of all sizes and potential into an unprecedented crisis. With strict movement protocols and stay-at-home orders in place around the world, businesses have been forced to close, flights canceled, and financial markets are in a tailspin. 

COVID-19 is not a one-off challenge. We should expect additional phases to the current epidemic and additional epidemics in the future. Researches outlined the effectiveness of organizational responses to dynamic crises indicates that there is one variable that is most predictive of eventual success –preparation and preemption. Preparing for the next phase of the current crisis now is likely to be much more effective than an ad hoc, reactive response when the crisis actually hits.

Prepare for a changed world.

We should expect that the COVID-19 crisis will change our businesses and society in unprecedented and important ways. It is likely to reinvigorate areas like online shopping, online education, and trigger public health investments, for example. It is also likely to change how companies configure their supply chains and reinforce the trend away from reliance on a few megafactories. When the urgent part of the crisis has been navigated, companies should consider what this crisis changes and what they’ve learned so they can reflect them in their plans. 

The Survival Guide, in English and Arabic, is available open-source for all startups and SMEs struggling in the wake of the global pandemic. With chapters on strengthening your team and operation, improving your market position, defending against revenue declines, and case studies, the easy-to-apply knowledge can assist much-needed businesses to survive and overcome the pandemic.

This report was prepared by Ahmad Sufian Bayram in collaboration with SPARK.