Kazi Najib Ashraf: have we acheived post pandemic yet

Moving freely in the evening brings a rush of guilt nowadays: a year with reclusion and locks down has created a certain normalcy, and now with the relaxations comes the pangs of change.

In the Middle East, the spikes have been sporadic and at times maybe concealed to make sure that somehow the economies would be kickstarted once again. The drives of vaccinations continue, and Malls and Cafes are re-opening one by one. With all this in mind, I took the opportunity to speak to a few people regarding their plans and opinions about the times to come. A mix of exhilaration and an optimistic doubt sprang up with a feeling of an ushering “New Economy”. Names have been changed at the request of the individuals.

Rahat ali, mobile trader UAE:

My business had flourished during the Pandemic with regular orders, especially from the online stores in the region. Mobile accessories and smart home devices have been a hit and it has completely changed my perspective towards business. I used to focus on high turnover and low margin products, scraping just the surface of what was available in the value chain, but I now realize that the real money is made elsewhere. People stayed home and ordered online and were desperate to divert their attention during the days of “Solitary Confinement”. And there was no better way to carry that on but to keep buying new toys. I had an office in the Freezone and a shop in the local market but now I have decided to consolidate my business taking a small warehouse in the local market to manage the online business. For bigger orders I use third party warehouses; the Pandemic has opened my eyes to a new possibility and made me investigate directions that were the “Elephant in the Room”.

Praveen Kumar, consumer electronics trader UAE:

I had a severe “bite” of Covid and, after the recovery, it took a few weeks for me to come to terms with the reality and the impact of the situation. As it were the early days, there was a severe shortage of PPE equipment and a dearth of suppliers and logistics facilities to cater to the demand. I dallied into the business and brought in a few containers of masks and gloves; I could not have been luckier. The returns during the shortage had been astronomical and the continuous shortages drove the prices northwards daily.