The first things to get impacted by COVID-19 were physical meetings with and travel to Women on Wings’ partner. To continue to support its partners, Women on Wings had to try new methodologies: five free webinars were organized in May and June which were devised keeping in mind the conversations with various partners in April. Women on Wings’ experts were also eager to participate and volunteered their time and expertise.
Funding and importance of social media
The first webinar was about funding initiatives in COVID-19, moderated by expert Dimple Sahni. She gave practical tips as well as shared a database of financial schemes and grants – many related to COVID-19 – that are available to entrepreneurs.
Expert Danielle Pels moderated a webinar about the importance of social media and how it helps to stay visible, keeps the connect with all stakeholders and in particular create loyal customers, today and post COVID-19.
Sustainability in new economy
The sustainability in the new economy webinar, moderated by experts Joan den Exter and Edwin van der Brand, was about how the textiles and fashion industry is changing toward a more sustainable industry. Additionally they talked about how organizations will need to keep their supply chains up to date with sustainable compliances.
Challenges, opportunities and preparing for future
The fourth webinar, moderated by experts Karen de Loos and Antoine Miltenburg, focussed on the challenges and opportunities specifically in the food & agri sector, following the ‘7 C’s concept.
The fifth and final webinar was moderated by Marlies van der Meulen-Sahni (see picture), who has immense experience in managing companies. Her own company is also affected by COVID-19 and she shared her observations, challenges, and solutions that she is using to prepare for the “new normal”.
Boosting the community
All of the experts kept the -ZOOM- webinars interactive and managed their time in such a way that the participants had enough time for questions or sharing their views regarding their experiences. The feedback to these webinars was extremely positive. A number of Women on Wings partners requested one-on-one sessions with the experts to deep dive into the same topics specifically for their organizations.
