As Malta’s foremost representative body of business, President David Xuereb says The Malta Chamber has remained close to and sympathetic towards businesses over the past months, while making sure that Government understood the real issues at grassroots level and providing the adequate and sufficient support that was direly needed.

“At the same time, The Malta Chamber has been looking fiercely ahead towards a brighter and better future during and post-COVID-19.” “The disruptions caused by this pandemic have presented us all with an opportunity.

“We don’t want to merely survive through the crisis. We wish to grasp the resulting opportunities and strive to be better off in social, economic and environmental terms than we were last February,” says Perit Xuereb.

“I consider the world to have pushed a reset button, and where we decide to go from here is all fair game.” The President asserts that this new reality brings endless opportunities, “and, as business leaders, it is our role to digest and mould these prospects.

“We need to understand that the way we conduct our businesses, interact with our customers and sell our products or services will change significantly with respect to renewed client values and expectations. We must hence do all in our power to get ready for these changes, make sure that we are best prepared for them, and get it right.”

He adds that adapting to the new normal will entail re-thinking business models and strategies. “It is now more essential than ever that companies are incentivised to think differently, work hard to become more innovative and resilient to grow and develop further in a competitive international market with fast-changing dynamics.”

The President points out that, although the effects of the storm may take a while to pass, people in business “are blessed with an ability and ambition to be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel in an entrepreneurial manner, and identify opportunity while others are detecting clouds,” he asserts.

“At The Malta Chamber, we have made it a point to be catalysts in this regard and enable our members as well as all members of the business community to rise to the challenge, be more courageous and resilient in the face of these challenges, and strive on.”

Perit Xuereb says the Chamber presented Government with concrete proposals on how to address determinate subjects such as meeting liquidity needs, mobilising labour supply, incentivising business activity, jumpstarting the economy, a shift in mindset and stimulating innovation. “It is evident that the current situation is expected to take longer than we all wish for,” he adds.

“Waiting for the storm to be over is not an option.” In this vein, a Chamber Think Tank Strategic Group has been set up with the purpose of reading the signs of the times to come, while researching and developing various scenarios of how the post-pandemic business and social landscape might look.

“The Think Tank’s ultimate objective is to develop strategic initiatives which will need to be undertaken in the short, medium and long terms to address what many are calling the new normal,” says Perit Xuereb. “Contingency planning and adaptation are crucial in these circumstances. We must ensure that our businesses are aware of the opportunities that are arising in this new world and embrace them with open arms.”

This is an extract of an article which featured in the June/July edition of the Commercial Courier