Covid-19 has given us a universal air of anxiety and we have to tackle that.
What was: how has your job changed because of the coronavirus crisis?
FreshSource operates in the fresh fruit and vegetable industry, so luckily, we have not been drastically affected by the Covid-19 crisis. However, in the wake of this new reality, there have been seismic shifts in the way the world operates, and Freshsource has had to adjust.
I think there are three key takeaways from this situation. The first being the true value of adaptability. Following the imposition of a nation-wide curfew, we were forced to shift all our operations, basically overnight. In such uncertain times, it pays if your operations are resilient and nimble enough to handle these big changes, and part of that comes from making sure that you capitalize on the idea of being lean.
Our company, like many others, has relied more heavily on digital solutions these days. Platforms like Slack, Notion, Zoom, and Google Hangouts have been an essential part of ensuring that business runs as usual. Because our team isn’t always physically in the office, the importance of being able to access all essential documents remotely has never been more apparent than now.
Finally and most importantly, our team. Freshsource is dedicated to employee safety and we've taken measures to ensure that the office is a safe environment. We made sure our employees were well informed about the pandemic, we asked nonessential employees to work from home, implemented sanitizer dispensers around the office, and have enforced social distancing at our workplace.
There is a universal air of anxiety, so we've found that taking the time to ensure every member of our business knows that we are here to support one another through these unchartered waters was crucial.
What is: can you share something you have been doing during this time to help you grow?
I’ve realized one of the most important things I’ve done to help me get through this time is maintaining a solid routine regardless of whether or not I'm in the office. I’ve also tried my best to remain relatively active. I’ve recently taken up cycling which really helps me unwind after a long day.
I think it’s critical to stay informed, this really is a new reality. I’ve been trying to read a lot about how other entrepreneurs are navigating through the pandemic, as well as what industry leaders think the next coming months are going to look like, and thankfully there are so many people sharing their experiences on various platforms and articles online. A podcast I find myself turning to a lot right now is ‘Start up Therapy’, which helps unpack a lot of the issues that entrepreneurs face. Aside from that I’ve also been venturing into reading books of different genres, the most recent being fiction; I just started Catch-22 by Joseph Heller.
What will be: how do you think the industry you’re in is going to change after COVID? What do you think the “new normal” will look like?
I think our industry will see a lot of changes. We’ve seen consumers shift to using online delivery platforms for purchasing their groceries when possible.
FreshSource sources produce directly from farms and supplies businesses all over Egypt as well as having a store on Otlob - helping make our product available to everyone during this time.
I feel like office culture is definitely going to change, I’m sure there's going to be more of an awareness about social distancing especially when it comes to the workplace. I see people moving towards a more digitally enhanced office and investing more in remote working tools, certainly non essential meetings will continue being held virtually. I personally feel like some companies will even continue having a hybrid workforce (some people in the office while others are working from home).
Written By
Omar Emara
Omar is co-founder and COO of FreshSource, the region's first B2B platform for agri-goods, connecting farmers to businesses and
providing last mile solutions.
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