The novel coronavirus disease, discovered in the year 2019 and also known as COVID-19 for short, has certainly rocked the world. Numerous cities and nations are on total lockdown, worldwide. Millions of people are in their homes except for the essential workers, in a bid to curb the virus. However, there’s a limited amount of time countries can be on house arrest before the world starts to feel it. We’re not just feeling it socially; we’re feeling it in our economy too.
Globally, every part of our society has been affected by the pandemic. Practically every industry has been affected in some way. Emerging markets all over the globe are taking a severe hit. It’s been a downward spiral for a lot of business since the virus first appeared in China. Quickly spread to Europe and is now wreaking havoc in North America and the rest of the world as well. One of the industries you might least expect or not even consider how this global disruption affects is the cannabis industry. Yes, even weed is taking a hit in these times. So with no clear end to the pandemic insight, you should know more about how exactly the virus is affecting the emerging markets.
Without the coronavirus in our streets, many of us are used to working 9-5 jobs, five times a week. But with so many people being outrightly barred from leaving their homes and going to work, unemployment rates have skyrocketed. The rate of unemployment is not so staggering that it made history. So what happens when businesses can’t function and can’t pay their staff? Their expansion cripples, and their shares fall. Unfortunately, the cuts in interest rates that many countries are applying can’t seem to get the shares back up.
Transportation/Cab Services
To curtail the spread of the virus, travel bans have been imposed on several cities. Depending on the severity of cases in the country, it can range from not allowing flights from infected countries to a total lockdown of cities within states. A case study would be Wuhan in China and Lombardy in Italy. The increased regulations have made traveling as a whole rather stressful. Many flights have been delayed or canceled altogether. Emerging industries such as cab-hailing services like Uber, Lyft, and others that have become quite popular in recent years have taken a hit. With everyone staying in their home, patronage is at its all-time low and even drivers are unable to work due to the lockdown.
Biohacking
If you’ve never heard of biohacking beforehand, it is probably because it is an industry that has become popular only recently. Also known as DIY biology, the practice that is aimed at boosting physical and mental performance with habits like IV hydration therapy, sleep tracking and so on has become the rave in recent times. But even the health sector has been affected by the corona scourge and biohacking is affected as well. With the stay at home order, biohacking backed businesses in this sector have seen a decline as well. Of course, given the nature of their operation, the new wellness field should bounce right back once the epidemic is curtailed.
CBD Businesses
Before the coronavirus reared its ugly head, the marijuana industry was just starting to thrive. While a lot of progress has been made in the advocacy for general acceptance, the market is still a young and barely thriving one. The prevalence of the disease only made it worse. Both recreational users and those that use of marijuana as tinctures, massage oil, edibles and a host of other medical uses are also affected. With supply cut off, and businesses shut down in compliance with isolation orders, those who are interested in purchasing marijuana legally are having a hard time getting access.
Unfortunately, with most new markets, a lot of the interest is reinvested in the capital. So with no additional profit, emerging industries in various places like the cannabis program in Oklahoma face a considerable challenge. To get this market back on its feet, governments may have to get involved and offer bailout for businesses in this market. Despite its proven positive uses, cannabis remains illegal in the federal arm, another possible hindrance to the possibility of receiving help.
How To Ride It Out
The coronavirus has disrupted a good chunk of our lives. But like every other disease in the history of humanity that has come and gone, so will this. So emerging markets and industries will need to find new and innovative ways to ride out the storm and come out with their businesses intact. There are a couple of measures that can be implemented to help ride out the wave of the pandemic. In summary, COVID-19 has affected a lot of newer industries quite negatively not to mention the number of existing industries that have been crippled as well. The economy of the entire world may be on its back right now. But if the right steps and measures are taken, both the emerging markets and conventional industries can all still make a comeback.
Henry Lares is still early into his career as tech reporter but has already had his work published in many major publications including Tech Crunch and the Huffington Post. In regards to academics, Henry earned an engineering degree from Apex Technical School. Henry has a passion for emerging technology and covers upcoming products and breakthroughs in science and tech.