I’m a local businessman who exports Sri Lankan spices but during the pandemic, all my business activities were forced to shut down and I had no way of even maintaining the cash flow.

It was time to make a decision, the hardest decision I had to make was whether to close down the business or keep it running. All my orders for a one-year period were canceled and there was no way of funding my business without the cash flow.

Finally, after some days after many discussions with many people, I saw an opportunity in the local market for a high demand for fruits. I was in a do-or-die situation and I had the last funds which I could utilize. With great risk I took the decision to invest in the new field, it is the best decision I have made in my career!

Within a few months, the new line of business became profitable enough to look after the employees working in my company and keep their families happy during this pandemic time. I’m glad that I was able to do so where it is benefiting the people who work with me. At a time most of the companies in the world are laying off staff and have shut down their businesses I am glad I was able to keep the staff and the business.

What I have learned out of this is there will be more and more challenges coming in the future but we should be able to adapt to the situation and overcome the challenges and look after the people around us.