The Boom within the Outbreak

The views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not necessarily those of Breaking Belize News.

By Madeleine Michelle Guerra: COVID-19, the unwelcomed guest of 2020, has brought with it unthinkable blows. From a complete pause in our tourism industry, to the loss of jobs among various economic sectors, it has been a disheartening few months for us all.

With our usual joyful and adrenaline-charged September celebrations completely absent, nothing rings truer that this years’ theme, Overcoming Adversity, Creating Opportunity, Belizeans: Unite for Prosperity, which truly represents the Belizean response to the hardships brought by COVID-19. Along with the blows, we have seen an unexpected boom, the boom of microenterprises.

Over the past few months, Belizean talent, creativity and innovativeness has taken center stage to beat the restrictions brought by the pandemic. In an unprecedented manner, Belizeans answered the call of the entrepreneurial spirit. Despite the risk and uncertainty that goes into becoming a business owner, the effects of COVID-19 created little to no option for hundreds of Belizeans who lost their jobs from external factors completely out of their control.

In an effort to regain a form of income, a large handful of Belizeans have taken their skillsets and started a business. What’s more, many of these emerging businesses are created with what is quickly becoming the norm, and that is operating predominantly online. Anyone who peruses through any social media application can undoubtedly notice the surge in creation and promotion of Belizean business accounts since the pandemic took hold. Our local industry boasts an indisputably talented group of entrepreneurial chefs, bakers, stylists, designers, and so much more, who are all creating a new chapter for our often too dependent country.

During this time, we have exponentially grown the amount of locally made products now sitting in stores countrywide. As consumers, for the first time ever we now have the opportunity to choose between internationally made and locally made for multiple categories of products. Whether it’s internationally made tomato sauce or locally made tomato sauce, the option is now yours. COVID-19 created a mirror for Belizeans, highlighting our heavy reliance on external factors. The adversity brought about by COVID-19 was a necessary step towards the advancement of our local economy and hopefully paves the way for supporting and encouraging the advancement of micro-entrepreneurs.

Whether you yourself are a business owner, or you know someone who owns a business- word of mouth and a little support goes a long way in our small community. We can continue overcoming adversity and creating opportunity day by day by the entrepreneurial and consumerist choices we make.

Advertise with the mоѕt vіѕіtеd nеwѕ ѕіtе іn Belize ~ We offer fully customizable and flexible digital marketing packages. Your content is delivered instantly to thousands of users in Belize and abroad! Contact us at mаrkеtіng@brеаkіngbеlіzеnеwѕ.соm or call us at 501-612-0315.

© 2020, BreakingBelizeNews.com. Content is copyrighted and requires written permission for reprinting in online or print media. Theft of content without permission/payment is punishable by law.