Business for good in the time of COVID-19

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness.” The opening line of Charles Dickens’ novel A Tale of Two Cities could very well describe the almost surreal reality we are living as the coronavirus continues its unrelenting march across the globe.

On the one hand, we are going through what can only be described as the annus horribilis of our young century. A deadly pandemic inside a global recession enveloped by a zeitgeist of fear and panic. Catastrophic moments like these very often bring out the very worst in people, as many of us have witnessed first-hand – hoarding, price gouging, panic buying, finger pointing.  

On social media, harmful fake news and bogus donation drives proliferate.

And yet, it is also in the middle of these desperate times that the very best in us emerges. I have been touched by the many, many acts of generosity this crisis has unleashed. 

• Medical frontliners and hospital staff putting their lives at risk to take care of the sick.  
• Government workers, the police and military, working round the clock to ensure order and safety. 
• Workers who continue to report to work so that the rest of us have access to essential services – groceries, banks, pharmacies, garbage collection, utilities and media.
• Civil Society and ordinary citizens coming together to raise money for masks, PPEs, food and other essentials.
• The business community mobilizing its networks and economic resources to provide assistance across the board. 

In the work that I do at Endeavor helping high impact entrepreneurs scale their businesses, I have seen up close howprofit has given way to civic duty. Entrepreneurs have harnessed their ingenuity and grit to develop some clever ways to join the fight against COVID-19. 

Entrepreneurs turn up

It is classic entrepreneurial stuff – see a problem and figure out how to solve it, whether or not you have the resources to do it. Linda Rottenberg, the founder of the non-profit Endeavor, has a great line that describes the situation neatly: “When economies turn down, entrepreneurs turn up.” 

Mind you, these entrepreneurs have all been walloped as hard as the rest. As I write, most are going through unprecedented declines in their business and are scrambling to conserve cash, reduce expenses and pivot the business to be ready for the inevitable recovery from this pandemic. 

But in the middle of this chaos, they have also been moved to do something concrete to help the country.

Entrepreneurs are defined by how they respond to a crisis, which as the Chinese word for crisis suggests is the co-existence of danger and opportunity. The great ones are those who find opportunity in the face of danger. The great ones do right by all the stakeholders they serve: employees, customers, shareholders, suppliers and the communities they operate in. The great ones rise to the occasion when the moment demands it of them.

In the words of the Count of Monte Cristo – a man who lost everything then gained it back: “Life is a storm, my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next.  What makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes.” 

Below is a list of some of the noteworthy initiatives I have seen in the little Endeavor community in the Philippines. In the middle of a storm, this is how entrepreneurs rise to the occasion.

PROTECTING PATIENTS

Abetina Valenzuela (Equilife Medical)

Abetina is the founder of Equilife Medical, a company that provides medical services and equipment to ICUs in hospitals in the Philippines. When COVID-19 started to escalate, Abet and her team scrambled to get all the critical care equipment at their disposal – such as ventilators – to the hospitals that needed them most.  As with all hospitals they have stepped up their efforts to send their nurses, respiratory therapists and engineers into the frontline, at great personal risk to themselves.

Paul Rivera (Kalibrr)

Paul is the co-founder and CEO of Kalibrr, a technology company that aims to transform how candidates find jobs and how companies hire talent. Currently, his team is partnering with bld.ai, a technology company founded by Danny Castonguay. The COVID Sentinel mission is to detect, manage, and defeat pandemics. The sentinel surveillance system not only aggregates high quality data from public sources, but also collects targeted data from sources such as sewage testing and patient symptoms tracker apps. This intelligence is put in the hands of doctors for tactical solutions and researchers for systemic interventions. 

How to help

If you would like to donate, reach out to team@covidsentinel.ai.

Eric Schulze and Carl Ng (Lifetrack Medical Systems)

Eric and Carl lead Lifetrack Medical Systems, a healthtech company focused on improving affordable access to medical imaging. The company announced the launch of its collaboration with the provincial government of Antique, Philippines where Lifetrack will freely provide its LifeSys platform to aid the public health authorities of the province in identifying and prioritizing molecular testing for potential COVID-19 patients by using CT scans.

Stephanie Sy (Thinking Machines)

Stephanie is the founder and CEO of Thinking Machines, a global data science startup that builds AI platforms to help organizations make better decisions with data. Thinking Machines is supporting the Department of Health in identifying areas where vulnerable populations lack access to adequate health facilities.

PROTECTING FRONTLINERS

Kimberly Yao (CloudEats)

Kimberly is the founder and CEO of CloudEats, the largest cloud kitchens and restaurants startup in SEA. CloudEats has started a charity food drive centered around providing cooked meals to medical and local government frontliners. Armed with kitchens that are hyper-focused on delivery operations, CloudEats has been able to raise over 48,000 meal donations in just 7 days. The meals are being sent to the frontliners daily.

How to help

Join the CloudEats Food Drive by donating to BitesToGo, Inc. (BDO 007168012729) or order through their website (https://cloudeats.ph/).

Meredith Ngo (Adobo Connection)

Meredith is the founder and CEO of Adobo Connection, a fast-casual restaurant that celebrates the Philippines’ national dish by providing traditional but innovative versions of adobo. Adobo Connection is accepting donations for the meals of the medical frontliners in any hospital of the donor’s choice.

Help feed our frontline heroes by donating to the following: Culinactive Recipes, Inc. (BDO 006440153764). Message them on www.facebook.com/adobocon/ for more information. 

Steve Benitez (Bo’s Coffee)

Steve is the founder and CEO of Bo’s Coffee, the Philippines’ first, nationwide specialist coffee chain that celebrates local culture and creativity by offering a blend of homegrown beans and creating positive social impact by empowering other social enterprises. Bo’s Coffee has donated boxes of coffee and helped deliver cooked meals to our medical frontliners in various hospitals.

Zark Varona (Zark’s Burgers)

Zark is the founder and CEO of Zark’s Burgers, a Filipino fast casual burger chain that has created an entirely new burger experience across the Philippines. Zark’s Burgers has sent burgers to Makati Medical Center, Philippine Heart Center, and Medical City.

Ronald Robins (Mineski)

Ronald is the founder and CEO of Mineski, the largest eSports organization in Southeast Asia. Mineski has launched an online fundraiser called Lockdown Games, which is available for streaming on Mondays to Thursdays at 5-8PM. Mineski is also hosting a Corporate Charity Cup, a fundraising Mobile Legends tournament. Proceeds from the eSports tournaments will go to the PGH Medical Foundation Inc. 

If your company would like to participate in the Corporate Charity Cup, reach out to the following:

hello@endeavor.org.ph. Help the PGH Medical Foundation Inc. by donating to GCASH (0917 874 7768).

Roland Ros and Rexy Dorado (Kumu)

Roland and Rexy lead Kumu, a livestreaming community and social media platform. Kumu has offered to help companies do private live-streaming for town halls, meetings, and work events on the application for free. Kumu has also launched a fundraiser called Social Distansing, an online concert featuring the top local artists in the country.

Download the Kumu application on the App store or the Google Play Store, and join the live stream fundraiser from March 26 to April 8 at 4-9PM.

PROTECTING SMEs

Patrick Gentry and Alex Gentry (Sprout Solutions)

Patrick and Alex lead Sprout Solutions, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that simplifies HR, payroll, and timekeeping in the Philippines, eliminating payroll miscalculations and delays for businesses. Sprout Solutions conducted a series of webinars on HR, legal issues, and business continuity planning to help business owners.

Patrick Lynch (First Circle)

Patrick is the co-founder and CEO of First Circle, a fintech lender that provides strong businesses with supply chain financing to meet larger client demands and improve bargaining position with trading partners. With the surge in demand for production of PPE for our medical frontliners, First Circle continues to provide financing support for companies in the medical supplies industry. The company offered a 30-day payment holiday and waived any late fees and additional interest for its customers.

JR Yujuico (Point Blue)

JR is the CEO of Point Blue, a company that develops modern, affordable rental housing solutions for professionals working in Manila’s Central Business Districts.Point Blue offered 1-month rentals with their micro-studios for companies who need housing for their employees during this time. – Rappler.com

Manny Ayala is the Managing Director of Endeavor Philippines, a non-profit that helps to scale up entrepreneurs with high potential for economic and social impact.