Times of crises: how can start-ups collaborate with the public sector?

The COVID-19 epidemic is being a severe world crisis. In this midst, it’s normal that entrepreneurs might wish to help. What should be considered, if start-ups collaborate with the public sector?

It has been 6 since months since the Coronavirus pandemic started. So far, almost half a million people have died. Also, a severe economic recession has been ravaging countries. According to the IMF, the global economy might shrink 3% this year.

In such context, it’s normal that entrepreneurs might want to help. Start-ups, being agile entities, can accelerate change. Also, crises can be business opportunities. Over the last months, some start-ups have actually flourished. Here a question arises. When start-ups collaborate with the public sector, what should they consider?

Three aspects should be kept in mind, in partnerships. The first is data’s importance for healthcare. This field is clearly promising, in terms of “corona start-up investments”. It’s also of crucial importance for the response to the disease. Quickly analysing data is essential to understand how diseases spread through populations. Also, it may speed up clinical trials and diagnosis. This is why some Asian countries were so successful in tackling the epidemic. Having data knowledge will be key, for start-ups dealing with this crisis.

The second regards where the start-up’s going to work. What sort of government is it going to help? Is it developed, and has a good IT framework? How can you help the tasks that public staff have in their hands? This will be important for entrepreneurs to correctly “tailor” their offer.

The last topic, and the most important one, is security. As mentioned, most start-ups helping the crisis deal with data. The fact that it’s related to health only makes it more sensible. Thus, it’s critical to ensure that user information is completely secure.

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