When the story of COVID-19 is told, perhaps the main character will be the human damage caused by the pandemic. But personally, I would like it to be remembered for how science, business and people focused their creativity on making such uncertain times more bearable.
Finding solutions to some of the financial and health problems posed by the crisis led to the Chilean initiative Covid: Collaboration and Life, focused on four pillars: Health, Economy and Employment, Education and Community.
Winner of the Health section, the Lightwash project consists of a device capable of inactivating the coronavirus on clothing and personal protective equipment using ultraviolet light (UVC), with the capacity to disinfect 40 masks in 20 minutes. The Economy and Employment category was left in the hands of Consultok, an online platform of experts for entrepreneurs and professionals facing difficulties, who can access answers and request advice, provided through video messages with personalized consultations on career development, legal issues, investment and innovation, among others.
At the Education level, the MIDE application helps the country’s rural schools to maintain online classes, allowing students to work through textbooks, essays or interactive evaluations without an internet connection from a cell phone, benefiting households that do not have the necessary resources for children to carry out their school activities with basic exercises. Finally, LocalShop conquered its space within the Community section, by presenting itself as a platform that allows local businesses to connect with their communities using local shoppers, a kind of online sales system that employs local residents themselves to provide delivery services.
Other examples of how social innovators have responded to the crisis can be seen in Mexico, where a company transformed its entire production capacity to manufacture 3D printed masks; in Brazil, with a service that offers vouchers for free psychological consultations; in Peru, where a company is boosting its efforts to provide financial support to projects that lift families in Latin America out of poverty in the midst of the unbridled economic crisis; and in Spain, another organization adapted its services by creating an application that allows children’s cancer rehabilitation therapy to be carried out from home.
Innovation can also be extended to the design or construction of nursing homes – the most vulnerable sector during the pandemic – going beyond the model of accommodation focused on medical care and attention to basic needs, to promote a model focused on the individual, where autonomy, social connections, comprehensive welfare and an at home style take center stage.
From the very beginning of the pandemic, Cuba maintained scientific innovation and development as a key strategy, with more than one hundred research projects in progress. With the ingenuity of its scientists and technicians, Cuba is manufacturing its own emergency ventilators based on open codes published by researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Kent, but using completely original software and industrial design, with features such as assisted ventilation, invasive and non-invasive variants, the capacity to measure oxygen levels, and the possibility to operate without electric power.
For his part, entrepreneur Iván Díaz Mirabal applied his professional skills from the very beginning of the pandemic in the production of protective masks to support the work of health workers. “For me it is a totally new experience that makes me a better human being. I believe that when you ensure the wellbeing of others you are contributing to your own,” he told the Chinese agency Xinhua.
While protecting physical health has been a priority during these months, addressing emotional stability, educational advancement or economic solvency were also areas of concern addressed by classic or revolutionary ideas, implemented by those who see entrepreneurship as a way to help society.
