Enterprise Explores

With stores closed, runway shows canceled and global supply chains disrupted, much of the fashion industry has been rendered idle by the coronavirus pandemic. Now, designers, luxury labels and fashion conglomerates are all stepping up to help overcome shortages of masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE) in some of the hardest-hit countries. An LV or Burberry face mask anyone?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Food and grocery delivery services are stretched thin as demand has spiked since the movement control order took effect last month. And the situation is made worse with many riders and drivers choosing to stay home, fearing for their safety. We speak with Lalamove and McDonald's Malaysia about how they’re striving hard to deliver amid the Covid-19 pandemic.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An Australian astrophysicist has been admitted to hospital after getting four magnets stuck up his nose in an attempt to invent a device that stops people touching their faces during the coronavirus outbreak. Yeah, we’re wondering how, why and say what again?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While today marks the start of the second phase of Movement Control Order, with tighter restrictions for essential businesses and transportation, we should still be lucky as most places in Malaysia are not under lockdown unlike some other countries.   But while that doesn’t mean you can go out and roam freely, it’s something to be thankful for during this moment of crisis. Because a state in India, Karnataka to be exact, has come up with a controversial solution to make sure that people quarantined at home to curb the spread of the coronavirus stay at home: It wants them to send a selfie to the government every waking hour.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This global pandemic will shape businesses for decades to come. COVID-19 has already shown early signs of a shift in how consumers and businesses behave. Remote working is being encouraged by tech and non-tech companies alike, and more people are buying different things online.   What has been some of the changes to your daily routine that you think will continue after the Movement Control Order has been lifted? And is there room for startups to grow and captilise on this? Can this fuel the next wave of startup innovations or this a black swan period?  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learning something new during this Movement Control Order seems to be a #trend. So why not graduate from Yale University, ranked 8th in the World University Rankings, as recently they have made their most popular course ever available for free! Plus it could also potentially help you to improve your everyday happiness.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The SME Association of Malaysia (SME Malaysia) in partnership with Bizsphere Brand & Marketing Group (Bizsphere) launched a survey on 29th March evening and had attracted 15,627 SME responses in less than 18 hours.   The survey titled “Business Sustainability of SMEs During Covid-19 Crisis” was initiated to gauge the sustainability of Malaysia SMEs during the COVID-19 crisis and impact from Movement Control Order (MCO).    The results were worrying, only 1/3 of SMEs have enough cashflow for March expenses.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The recent MCO (Movement Control Order) extension of 2 weeks to April 14, will affect more businesses and individuals in Malaysia.   But the good news is that this is an opportunity for your business to go online. Most people are spending time at home and paying more attention online - consuming more social media and content than ever. This could be the perfect time to offer your products and services online, but only if you have the right structure in place.   Building on his CoronaTracker.com success, Dr Lau Cher Han, CEO of LEAD, built an online platform to teach offline businesses, sales agents, freelancers to sell their products/services online.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While the Package Prihatin ensured all Malaysians are taken care off to battle the financial burdens caused by COVID-19, the retail industry is still taking a beating. The sharp drop in sales and closure of outlets during the Movement Control Order has forced many business owners and entrepreneurs to think outside of the box and find ways to collaborate with other businesses.   We speak to Chen Chow Yeoh, Co-Founder of FAVE to get his thoughts on the recent stimulus package and how Save Our Fave initiative can help businesses in Malaysia to cope with the impact of COVID-19.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Prime Minister on Friday (March 27) announced its largest economic stimulus package to date, with RM250 billion to be channelled towards supporting people and businesses grappling with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.   The package, dubbed as Package Prihatin, which includes RM128 billion for welfare programmes and RM100 billion to support businesses including small and medium enterprises, is meant to assist those who are most adversely impacted by the economic disruption from the Covid-19 outbreak.   We speak to a few thought leaders and entrepreneurs to hear what the think about this new stimulus package.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.