The thing we most feared has come upon us. COVID19 has become our common enemy globally as we battle a pandemic that crept in quietly and upturned the world as nothing has in recent decades.
Across the globe, the world is in a mad scramble to execute preventive measures to contain the spread of the virus, produce testing kits for early detection, trial vaccines on humans, and find a cure as thousands of people worldwide succumb to this strange infection. Centres for disease control (CDC) budgets are being quadrupled for monitoring and surveillance activities. Multibillion-dollar stimuli packages are being approved and activated to support the failing economies of different countries through this crisis.
Historically after every recession, depression, or another economic downfall, the new world order will always arise. Times of crisis are opportunities for wealth creation and economic reshaping. Would we choose to stay on the sidelines and become a casualty of the ‘infodemic’ or choose to be on the side of thinkers who will emerge winners at the end of this crisis?
Let me share a few thoughts on my mind.
Research and development departments of health agencies and industries
The stimulus budget for battling the pandemic era is several times bigger than most countries’ budgets. During and post-pandemic, research skills would become a highly sought-after skill and a premium paid for it. There would be a spike in recruitment and service opportunities in this space and related industries. This may be the time to offer your services for free by volunteering in a sector or job at the forefront of battling the pandemic to gain experience.
Virtual Learning Systems
Schools across the world and all levels of education have cancelled all in-person sessions indefinitely to curtail the spread of the virus. However, learning cannot stop, so there will be a new focus on the use of virtual classroom solutions to serve a broader market. We might find some courses never return to formal classroom sessions. Therefore, the time to churn out digital learning solutions and position in that space is now, with the virtual knowledge-based industry estimated to run into several billions of dollars. A recent report by Tech has estimated that the worldwide e-learning market is projected to worth $325 Billion in 2025. In 2017, approximately 77% of US corporations used online learning, but 98% planned to incorporate it into their program by 2020. It is now safe that assume that with the closures of institutions of education, this is the time to develop and launch robust hosting platforms for e-learning and quality content to serve to a knowledge thirsty market.
Mental health and Counselling
The number of infected and sick people globally has put a significant strain on the mental health industry. Organizations have had to hire counsellors and psychologists to deal with the effects on their workforce. This is the time to finally get that certification required to become a professional coach, behavioural therapist or counsellor earning sustainable passive income while still helping people become the best version of themselves or working through their challenges to a place of recovery.
Internet Service Providers
If virtual solutions are on the rise, the internet is no longer a luxury but an essential requirement for survival. The big and global technology companies have poured in millions of beefing up infrastructure to serve millions of consumers. Internet Service Providers should look to roll out cheap and affordable packages for home use. Organizations may cut down on their required bandwidth if work from home solutions become the new normal so while revenues may dip on that end, expect to see a sharp rise in data bundles for home use so technology enthusiasts ought to position in this space to provide equipment, services, and allied products.
Stock investors
The market has seen a sharp decline like never before. The DOW had the worst drop ever in history, share prices of blue-chip stock are rapidly falling even with government stimuli and crashing interest rates to zero as the capital market went into a frenzy. This year, several trillions of dollars in value have been wiped out of the global stock market, and there is no remedy in sight. Perhaps this is the time to buy stocks of previously stable companies that now have a lower entry point. Buy stocks of pharmaceutical or medical equipment companies at this time as they would be major gainers. I don’t imagine a world post-pandemic where travelers would stop using protective gear. Now is the time to buy at low prices and hold till the market recovers.
Immigrant programs via investment or contribution to development funds
There has been no better time to have dual citizenship, especially for those from developing countries. There is a prevalent fear that should the pandemic persist, the health infrastructures of many countries will collapse. Internet searches have shown high traffic to sites detailing how to get citizenship to states that run diversity programs or citizens by investment or travel visa-free to developed countries. There is an opportunity here for immigration lawyers to support through the process. Countries offering citizenships would have an avalanche of applications driving up revenue in this space.
Family
Marriages will come out stronger or fall apart as families are forced to spend more time together than ever. We could potentially see a sharp rise in divorce rates post this crisis while on the flip side, we could see a spike in childbirths towards the last quarter of 2020. Like Baby boomers and Millennials, the phrase for children born post-pandemic hiatus has already been coined ‘Coronials.’ In the short term, at the least, this means more schools and childcare requirements. Home schooling experts have reported sharp increases in demand as parents look to them for support. There will be an increased need for housing if a similar spike-like what transpired during the baby boom era repeats itself as families grow in size or couples split up.
Interest Rate Reductions
It is time to borrow and refinance all existing debts as interest rates have pummeled to a historic all-time low. This means your mortgage bill will reduce dramatically if you have property investment outside the country. This is the time to overpay on your mortgage and reduce outstanding balances, and this is the time to get on the property ladder. The COVID intervention
Regardless of where you are now, where will you be economically when this is over? Food for thought.
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Uche Lotanna-Anajemba, known as MULA, is a human capital executive and serial entrepreneur with twenty years’ experience and a key focus on human capital management as a critical factor for success.
She is the convener of Bloom, a biannual vision workshop helping women
define their purpose and goals for success. Her passion for empowerment has her running a weekly virtual session called BYTESIZE with MULA, where she shares Bitesize teachings on a variety of topics that impact life, business, and career. She is the instigator of the concept of Eight ventures that promotes people to explore multiple ventures as a recipe for success.
Uche is the brainchild of the high impact employability workshop called Class Room to Board Room (CR2BR).
She is actively involved in ministry and professional coaching and counseling across various areas of life, business, and career and is committed to helping women find purpose and live wholesome lives through her faith-based methods.
‘Time to soar’ is her first book and is a book written for anyone who is ready to be triggered into actions to propel them to the best version of themselves.
Purchase the hardcopy of Time to Soar here, and the e-book here
