New Ideas and COVID-19, Innovating to Thrive

If your goal is to get your startup off the ground in the face of a world pandemic, it might be that your business idea will solve the right problem. Previous articles published in the Entrepreneurship Campus have highlighted the essential role of startups and small businesses in achieving sustainable development and post-crisis economic recovery. Remember this, surveys show that customers now care more about sustainability. But not all types of businesses, especially large ones have been able to adapt to such abrupt market conditions.

Besides this, many companies have invested in getting perfectly optimized to face old challenges. Suddenly they faced the need to look at the future. As this article points out, most organizations are terrible at looking to the future. Trying to control the market place in difficult times would be like trying to control the weather. No one does it, you just look at the weather forecast and act in a flexible way.

Hence, the old business adage ‘adapt or die’ has never been truer than in 2020. COVID has shown that adaptability is more than just a competitive advantage. It is a strategy to survive.
It’s easier for startups, although not for all, to respond faster, change faster, and to execute faster.

How many things were taken for granted?

Experience has shown that many startups have been able to cause huge changes to the industries where they operate. Many call it the Airbnb, Uber, or Lyft effect. They revolutionized the markets while keeping prices for specific services in check. However, even successful companies like Airbnb have been hit by the pandemic. Travel restrictions and health concerns give insights on how many things we took for granted. Who would have thought to not visit relatives, not use public transport, or not hold a normal office meeting for entire months? The new normal now is online. School, work, family celebrations, healthcare, shopping, and many more, all are done while facing a screen.

In such a situation young innovators are vigilant for new ideas in specific sectors.
As healthcare, transport, and mobility, education, work, shopping, fashion and self-care, entertainment, logistics will never be the same. These sectors hold huge potential for business ideas, however, their chances for success depend strongly on local contexts and circumstances. Yet the logic is simple. You can try to write down a list of problems and possible solutions. Pick the one that seems to be more practical and give it a try.

It can sound difficult, but with the right mindset, you can make it possible to pivot innovative solutions that help your community and contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals.
What problem needs an emergent solution in your city? How would you help to solve it?
make your ideas and projects part of the 2020 Citizen Entrepreneurship Competition.