Top five challenges faced by businesses post-covid

Top five challenges faced by businesses post-covid

Several innovations in history were born out of crisis. Covid-19 has changed the world and while this pandemic might end soon, its impact will be felt for several decades. I have seen several businesses closing and thousands of employees put of furloughs during last 2 years. On the second hand, the digital adoption truly accelerated across all corners of the world while the world witnessed the value of internet. Business owners must look at the top challenges the world is facing to be prepared for the post-covid era.

“Climate risk is a systemic risk and can only be addressed globally. We still have an opportunity to correct course now and construct a world that will be greener, more sustainable, and more resilient”

Jérôme Haegeli, Swiss Re's Group Chief Economist:

1.    Uncertainty about the crisis: As of 9th September 2021, globally, more than 222 million people have suffered from COVID-19 while 4.6 million people lost their lives. The vaccination rate, which stands at 5.4 billion, is highly skewed towards developed countries. In several parts of the world, covid cases are re-emerging which provides uncertainty about the future.

2.    Cybersecurity situation is worsening: The total damage done by cybersecurity amounted to $6 trillion in 2021. If this is measured as a country, cybercrime would be world’s third largest economy after the US and China. This damage will accelerate to $10.5 trillion by 2025. Small businesses, usually do not spend enough on this front, must make this a priority now.

3.    Supply chain rebalancing: Covid exposed the vulnerabilities in the global long and complicated supply chain dependencies. This could result in a major shift, as much as one-quarter of global exports, valued at $4.5 trillion by 2025.

4.    Diversity and Inclusion: Diversity and inclusion are two most important pillars that drives innovation and creativity at work. Companies around the world are going beyond a tick in the box approach. With more companies accepting remote work, diversity and inclusion are more accessible to businesses.

5.    Climate Change: Often considered cliched by business leaders, an alarming statistic about climate change is that if nothing is done, world economy will lose up to 18% of its GDP by 2050. Emerging economies are the worst positioned to be affected by this. This, however, bring new opportunities for businesses as the world adopts the green economy.