Averting a Crisis: Business Response to COVID-19

Illustration via Autumn Qiu

Prior to January of 2020, there seemed to be no limits on the expansion of the economy and the reach of businesses. We normalized constant globalization and a rapidly changing business world; so naturally, a worldwide shut down came as a shock to all businesses. The introduction of COVID-19 has been a struggle for the global economy, but as always, businessmen and women have found innovative ways to navigate their companies through this crisis.

An important thing to note is businesses shift in marketing strategy- companies are localizing their outreach and placing importance on neighborhoods and suburbs. Previously, both demand and company focus was on cities and urban landscapes. With a drastic decrease in travel, it’s hard for companies to profit from an extremely restricted city population. Being a hub for market trading and business, Hong Kong is one of the most affected areas in the world, and businesses there have been taking exemplary steps for months.

Katherine Ng, the Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer at HKEX, one of the world’s largest stock trading companies, pushed her company to take into account the needs of the local population. They donated over 10 million dollars to local NGOs and relief funds, and more importantly, provided much needed sanitation kits to the people. This is simply one example; business adaptation is an essential part of averting this crisis, and Katherine Ng in addition to multiple other women around the world have been paving this path for months.