Prof. Mrs. Goski Alabi, Consulting President of Laweh Open University College, has advised entrepreneurs to make their products readily available in the virtual space that has evolved in the wake of COVID-19 so as to stay in business and to reap the attendant dividends.
According to Prof. Mrs. Alabi, entrepreneurs should recognize that in the era of COVID-19, physical space and physical presence have been by virtual space and virtual presence, and it is those who are taking advantage of this new normal that are making it big.
She identified education, food delivery, personal shopping, logistics, digital marketing, affiliate marketing, shop dropping, virtual pharmacy, home-based care, virtual gumming and dancing, waste management, general online consultancy, among others, as the areas that hold a lot of prospects for entrepreneurs.
“Education, in particular, cannot be left behind in this enterprise, the earlier we recognize that, the better it would be for us,” stressed the Professor of Quality Management and Leadership.
Prof. Mrs. Alabi made these observations when she addressed on Sunday the University of Cape Coast (UCC) first Alumni E-Forum, organised by the Old Mariners Association (OMA) in collaboration with the UCC Alumni Relations Unit. She spoke to the topic, ”Identifying Business Opportunities in the Midst of COVID-19 Pandemic.”
Prof. Mrs. Alabi characterised entrepreneurs as people who dare to innovate. She said such persons identify problems or challenges and think and create solutions.
“Creation of solution, requires a lot of effort. Sometimes, there are risks involved but entrepreneurs don’t allow these to dissuade them. They persevere to come out with solutions.”
Besides, she observed that entrepreneurs find out whether there is someone who will pay for the solution and also consider the competition and examine the uniqueness of their product or service before they venture into the market with their offerings.
She noted that those who have turned out to be heroes of entrepreneurs, “ see the small problems and create big value out of the small problems.”
Speaking on the same topic, but with a focus on finance, Mr Emmanuel Quarm, Financial Controller of Data Bank Group, said one useful lesson that COVID-19 pandemic had taught is the importance to invest in emergency funds.
Mr Quarm disclosed that the existence of emergency funds could have lessened the adverse impact of the recent banking crisis on the 400,000 families who were hardest hit.
He explained that there are four types of Investments, namely emergency, multipurpose, education and retirement funds. He encouraged Ghanaians to invest in these funds against a rainy day.
Mr Quarm advised that everyone should always be guided by his objectives and risk tolerance when investing into a particular fund.