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11

Business Resilience

Practitioners’ lessons learned from Covid-19 and recommendations for the future of doing business

Prepare your inclusive business for the next crisis

Prepare your inclusive business for the next crisis

Three practical lessons learned from ygap’s Resiliency Toolkit

1. Foresee where your business is at risk

To survive a crisis, you must understand both the external and the internal risks your business could be exposed to. Natural disasters are an example of an external risk, while the loss of key staff is an example of an internal threat. As calculating risks is an abstract task, we found it helpful to visualise your businesses’ risks. Using a matrix, as shown here, you can quantify the level of impact and how likely the risk is to occur.

2. Track your finances 

Keeping your risks in mind, it is essential to have an action plan for your finances that addresses all types of risks. Two key indicators are your burn rate (the monthly spending of your business) and your runway (the amount of time you can operate if you bring no more revenue into the business from today). Set aside cash reserves that get you through at least three months without any revenue. Involve your team in your action plan, as your staff could also be affected by reorganization through part-time solutions or interim contracts.

3. Create a communication plan

As your business probably depends on staff, customers, or suppliers, identify your key stakeholders first. After that, create a communications plan based on your response to the crisis, and make sure to define which members of your team are responsible for taking action on the plan.

Photo Credit: Resiliency Toolkit by ygap
If you are interested in ygap’s Resiliency Toolkit, please take a look at our interview with Kaitlin Tait, one of the co-founders of ygap, in this CLUED-iN edition. Also, you can access the complete Resiliency Toolkit here. 

 

 

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Lisa Goellert
Lisa Goellert studied Political Science at the Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg. She holds a scholarship by Konrad Adenauer Foundation for young journalists and gained experience working in cross media for several years. After her Bachelor's degree, she is working for iBAN in the field of Communications and Digital Innovation. At work, her passion for multimedia storytelling drives her as she truly believes in the power of communications for impact companies to thrive.

Entrevista

Staying resilient during and post Covid-19 – Research findings and resources for entrepreneurs and governments

“Businesses rely on people,” asserts Professor Jane Nelson, Founding Director of the Corporate Responsibility Initiative at Harvard’s Kennedy School. In this interview, Nelson explains that she sees four key lessons learned for businesses from the...
Susann Tischendorf
Table of contents

graphic summary

GRAPHIC SUMMARY

A visual summary of the most important learnings when it comes to building resilience for crises in the realm of inclusive business. Learn more about these aspects by reading this eleventh edition of the online magazine on inclusive business! The...

editorial

Inclusive Businesses are Inherently Resilient

Nwuneli observed through her work that the companies least affected by Covid-19 have inclusive business models. She suggests two reasons for their resilience. First, inclusive businesses have invested in local sourcing and strong ecosystems. Second, these businesses had developed products and services that meet the needs of the customers at the bottom of the pyramid (BoP) – even in crisis.

Ndidi O. Nwuneli

feature story

Telling a story of resilience: Hands-on insights and resources from practitioners

In this CLUED-iN edition we gathered the inspiring stories and insights of practitioners, who shared the lessons learned from Covid-19 that they found to be particularly relevant for companies to stay resilient and shape the future of doing business. The resulting recommendations range from personal advice to practical toolkits, insightful webinar findings, and concrete advice for entrepreneurs and other stakeholders that shape the private sector in countries around the globe, including government.

Susann Tischendorf

Staying resilient during and post Covid-19 – Research findings and resources for entrepreneurs and governments

“Businesses rely on people,” asserts Professor Jane Nelson, Founding Director of the Corporate Responsibility Initiative at Harvard’s Kennedy School. In this interview, Nelson explains that she sees four key lessons learned for businesses from the current crisis, highlighting a need to focus on technology, leadership, diversity and relationships.
Entrevista
Staying resilient during and post Covid-19 – Research findings and resources for entrepreneurs and governments
Interview with Jane Nelson (Harvard Kennedy School) by Susann Tischendorf
Susann Tischendorf

Nathalie's Trade - Perceiving the global need for clearer inclusive businesses models

Nathalie’s Free Trade is a “feel-good-do-good” food brand based in Sweden. In this interview, founder Nathalie Aldana explains how inclusive businesses can help the most vulnerable in times of crisis. She contends that the relationship between the Global North and South needs to be synergetic better than dependent to become resilient.
Entrevista
Nathalie's Trade - Perceiving the global need for clearer inclusive businesses models
Interview with Nathalie Aldana (Nathalie's Direct Trade) by Susann Tischendorf
Susann Tischendorf

MIT D-Lab - supporting early stage entrepreneurs in emerging markets to reach Focus, Agility and (then) Resilience

MIT D-Lab is a multidisciplinary programme at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) that fosters the development of appropriate technologies and sustainable solutions to global poverty through education, research and the practice of inclusive innovation. In this interview, Jona Repishti, Social Entrepreneurship Manager at D-Lab MIT, explains why entrepreneurs should use the current crisis for business housekeeping and why Focus and Agility come before Resilience.
Entrevista
MIT D-Lab - supporting early stage entrepreneurs in emerging markets to reach Focus, Agility and (then) Resilience
Interview with Jona Repishti (MIT D-Lab) by Susann Tischendorf
Susann Tischendorf

From rescuing to reshaping

With the looming thread of Covid-19 spreading to Africa, African development organizations, joined by the international community, came together to discuss plans and actions in virtual meetings. We at iBAN monitored the ongoing debate and provided summaries of insightful webinars on our Covid-19 response page. Now, three months into the crisis, we want to share our impressions of how the crisis evolved from first aid measures to detection of underlying problems and recently to an outlook on future solutions.
Entrada de blog
From rescuing to reshaping
The evolving Covid-19 response in Africa
Felix Beideck

Prepare your inclusive business for the next crisis

As a business leader, you could spend countless hours reading through all of the current toolkits and theoretical frameworks on how your business could improve its performance during times of crisis. To help you invest your time effectively, we at iBAN will highlight what we consider the three most important steps out of ygap’s toolkit for your path to increased resilience. The following lessons learned focus on risk preparation, finance tracking and crisis communications.
Entrada de blog
Prepare your inclusive business for the next crisis
Three practical lessons learned from ygap’s Resiliency Toolkit
Lisa Goellert

ygap - guiding social impact ventures to push business resilience

ygap is an international development organization that supports early-stage social impact ventures with locally-led solutions to local problems across Africa, South Asia, the Pacific Islands and Australia. In this interview, Kaitlin Tait, Co-Founder of ygap and Program Director for yher, explains how ygap is focussing on supporting female entrepreneurs during the current crisis and stresses that business resilience soon will be a competitive advantage.
Entrevista
ygap - guiding social impact ventures to push business resilience
Interview with Kaitlin Tait (ygap) by Lisa Göllert
Lisa Goellert

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