A virus in need is a virus indeed

By Kabeer Nadir

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Where will we get the groceries from? Walmart is open. Is anyone delivering? The Amazon is. Are new TV series coming in? Get a Netflix account. How are you taking your classes? Through Zoom. And what about that small hardware store around the street corner? That has been temporarily closed by the government in the lock-down. Oh! For how many days? Maybe a month or two.

If we look at the stocks graph of multinational giants from the last six months, we would see a certain pattern in many of them. Amazon, Netflix, Zoom, Walmart and of course medicine companies’ stock prices either surged or sustained, in the pandemic effects, in February and March; time when the world was in lock-down and citizens were in quarantine. Most of the companies working now are either digital or using technology in their business models; which does not only remind us of the now-clichéd phrase, digital is the future but also it is present.

If multinationals are surviving through the crisis then who are not? Who are on the losing side? Small businesses and enterprises. Startups. If we look at the global economy, Asian markets are mostly developing and the number of startups is increasing phenomenally with time. In this scenario, where medium-level businesses are uncertain about their post-pandemic existence and the situation of market after the crisis, how many businesses will survive these months of shutting down?

Human resource in the business world is also expected to have adverse effects during and after corona virus pandemic. Many businesses are working with as less as half of their employees and are able to pull it off. They might be facing some difficulties, but as long as they are managing, it is being predicted that they would be cutting down on their human resources and millions of people will be left with no jobs by the end. Because why would you keep a staff of 200 people when the purpose can be achieved in 150 and an app.

This virus is here to transform the world business and its timing could not be any better; when the global economy was already in crisis and going towards a major recession, corona virus proved to be a catalyst. Yes! You read it right. Its effects have increased the pace by which the world was moving towards recession. But not for giants. They will come out of it as strong as ever as they have the capacity to take the jerk. The blow has hit the masses hard and it will crush the small industry by all means.

By the end of it, we will be witnessing the closure of thousands of small enterprises and also the merger of many corporates into giants. The lock-down is taking the world into an era where the capital will be in few hands, which is still the case but the complete disruption will take place and more capital will flow from the 98% to the ruling 2%.

In short, the transformation has started.

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Kabeer Nadir