It is widely believed that the origins of the coronavirus, and specifically the coronavirus known as 2019-nCoV is China. Many have stated that the virus has its origins in a wet market in Wuhan, China. According to Science, this might not be the case. In fact, the magazine reports that “The role of Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China, in spreading 2019-nCov remains murky” (Cohen). Still, Cohen states that sequencing and sampling at the market suggest that the market did play a role in the outbreak. There is not a definite answer about the exact place where the virus started within Wuhan or potentially outside of it. Currently, there are over forty thousand cases of this virus in Europe according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
It is expected that China and the United States will see a decline in their Gross Domestic Products due to the coronavirus. According to Frank Tang of the South China Morning Post, China was about to announce a 2020 GDP of about 6% but this has been postponed. Some people believe, Tang states, that the Chinese economy could see a 5% growth this year. In the United States, there is an expectation of a decline in the GDP as well. According to Business Insider, the virus will push the GDP of the United States into a range that is typical for a global recession. In fact, the source states that Bank of America has lowered the growth expected this year from 2.8% to 2.2%. With the economic situation changing, it is hard to accurately predict a specific percentage loss with GDP for the United States, China and other nations. However, there appears to be a consensus that the GDP of both nations, and others, will likely decline given the coronavirus and its economic impacts to date.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has recently announced that it has created a support package worth 50 billion riyals. The main goal of this package is to help the private sector and, in particular, both small and medium-sized businesses that are surely hurting from the coronavirus fallout. The funding comes from the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority and it will allow for deferrals on bank payments for six months. The package also includes concession financing and exemption from loan guarantee program costs. What it appears this package will do is remove some of the burdens that the companies in the country are facing. Many consumers are surely not buying now and there are many nations that have been locked down leading to an expectation of lower levels of trade. Because of the coronavirus, nations like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are attempting to protect their economies as well as their people.
Despite the general effect of this pandemic, there are still tech startups who see the current situation as an opportunity. As consumption shifts aggressively to online, startup offering supportive services to those working remotley and on-demand/delivery services are thriving. Amazon for example announced that its creating 100,000 new jobs in US only to help support the surge in demand they’re facing due to people’s sole reliance on online shopping for all their needs. Accordingly, we’ve seen similar surge cascading down to local on-demand startups in Saudi.
In our experience, the best founders take dramatic actions fast and early and do not rely on hope as a strategy. And we truly believe that when our companies weather this storm successfully, they will likely come out as strong contenders on the other side of this pandemic.
