Sem Mandela Uutoni

and networks to achieve greater results. For example, through business-to-business (B2B) engagements;

Innovation and change management are critical success factors for businesses to survive and thrive, especially during a crisis. Equally important is developing an innovative mindest that is open to change and disruption. Resilient and agile businesses position themselves better to take advantage of shifting landscapes and circumstances. Adapting to said change ensures businesses remain relevant and maintain a competitive edge;

As we navigate through these incredibly stressful and uncertain times, entrepreneurs need to take care of their mental health. A key piece of taking care of your mental health is developing healthy coping mechanisms. This can include seemingly trivial and cliché-sounding actions such as exercise, developing routines, maintaining connections with other entrepreneurs and, if need be seeking, a mentor, life coach or a psychologist;

Incubation is critical to building successful and financially viable businesses. Incubation allows small businesses to leverage peerto-peer learning opportunities, a comprehensive business support system, and the transfer of business skills;

Entrepreneurs need to identify expenses that can be reduced or deferred. This is essential to managing cash flow and financial reserves. This is in addition to assessing the businesses’ balance sheet to determine the pandemic’s impact on the company’s assets, liabilities and equity. This will enable informed decisionmaking on how the business can innovate, pivot and expand their value proposition to remain afloat beyond this pandemic.

*Sem Mandela Uutoni is the CEO of the One Economy Foundation