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Digital Innovation Amid Covid Brings Opportunities For Businesses Like Never Before

Digital has proven to be the biggest differentiator. In his view, scaling digitally has separated the big economies from the developing ones.

The Covid crisis tested India’s public healthcare and digital infrastructure to the tee. While Internet technology has been transforming various facets of our lives for the last two decades, the world suddenly shrunk in a digital mould. But it expanded and accelerated the possibilities that digital innovation brings to the fore. 

India’s Digital Infrastructure proved handy to deal with the Covid crisis

While nations started putting more thrust on transforming their digital infrastructure, their citizens started adjusting to a virtual new normal. From our office meetings to deal negotiations, India Inc had to make way for flexible and new ways to solve its functional and business problems. While certain sectors of the economy were badly hit by the unprecedented national health crisis, certain sectors thrived like never before.

The country's digital preparedness to cope with the Covid crisis showed ominous signs. Laying emphasis on the positives, Sudhir Mishra says, Digital has proven to be the biggest differentiator. In his view, scaling digitally has separated the big economies from the developing ones. And India’s robust digital infrastructure proved handy to deal with the Covid crisis. 

The pandemic has proven to be a strong lever for the healthcare industry

More and more people are learning about healthcare online. In a lighter vein, the amount of medical information or misinformation the elder community consumes through WhatsApp messages is something every Indian household can relate to.

Speaking at the BW Disrupt Young Founders Forum, Prabhdeep Singh, Founder, and CEO, StanPlus Technologies lays emphasis on the need of making timely access to medical services for the common man. For instance WHO recommends that an ambulance must reach a patient in 12 minutes. While the average time taken for an ambulance to service the people in need is 15 minutes in India, Singh’s company was able to make it possible within 3-4 minutes. Singh sees the potential to bring unparalleled efficiency in developing medical response systems and making medical access quick and easy in times to come. Adding granularity to the promising future of the online health care industry  Singh says that the three C's of content, community, and commerce are here to stay.

Fantasy Sports have gained acceptance in the eyes of the consumer

While many businesses saw disruptions and faced slack in terms of liquidity and revenue, newer businesses emerged in a big way. The gaming industry has emerged as a winner in the last 18 months.

The pandemic and subsequent lockdown accelerated the demand for alternate forms of entertainment resulting in the massive growth of the online and offline gaming industry. When a sector thrives, it brings booming economic and employment opportunities. 

Sharing his experience of building a business in this sector during the pandemic, Mr Amit Purohit, Co-Founder, Fantasy Akhada says, although our business may seem frivolous, during this pandemic, there has been a lot of surge in terms of what traction we see on our platform.

Responsible disposal of plastic crucial

While the Indian population was plagued with the increasing count in covid cases, the country was also overwhelmed with the menace of plastic pollution. From plastic bags to plastic cutlery, the use of single-use plastic caught up everywhere resulting in tonnes of eco waste.

Stressing on the fact that plastic itself is not the problem, Rahul Nainani, Co-Founder & CEO, Re-Circle believes that the invention of plastic has been a crucial advancement and has become an integral part of many industries. Putting things into perspective, he affirms that the fact that plastic does not disintegrate in the environment makes it one of its best features. The problem lies in its irresponsible disposal.  The fact that it does not disintegrate, it can be recycled and can be put back into the ecosystem over and over again, he adds. The opportunity for businesses operating in this sector lies in how quickly the waste disposable process can be scaled up amid the pressing need to recycle and reuse plastic in sustainable ways.

Tech has enabled synergies and wide reach to customers

Small towns and two-tier cities still have a long way to go when it comes to scaling their digital infrastructure. However, The nationwide lockdown has accelerated the process. Digitization has brought a myriad number of opportunities for businesses to scale up. The impact can be seen in big businesses and also at the ground level in Kirana shops.

Highlighting the challenges businesses at remote places faced during the lockdown, Pankaj Sunwar, Entrepreneur, Amway shared his experience on how he was able to leverage technology to scale his business and reach customers through virtual mediums.

Bullish about the trends going forward, the expert speakers believe that innovation in technology has brought unthinkable levels of product innovation, process efficiencies, and customer reach. It has not only made way for newer businesses to prosper but has helped the Indian economy as a whole to recover at a swift pace.



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