NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

By Jane Del Ser

It has now been 19 days since the WHO declared the COVID-19 crisis a pandemic on March 11. We publish this blog as several of the largest economies in the world are in the acceleration phase of the global epidemic. Many of us have now been sequestered in our homes for almost two weeks, while some countries are barely at the start of sheltering-in for the next weeks or months.

As the US stock market plummeted wiping out US$12 trillion in global market value, African stocks slid even further, losing more than 40% of their value, and global supply chains came to a standstill, we at BFA Global are asking what the direct impact is to the livelihoods of vulnerable populations during the pandemic. As a research and product innovation advisory firm for low-income people, one way we contribute is to generate data and insights to inform the best course of action for policymakers and the private and philanthropic sectors. With the virtual tools available to provide an immediate response, we provide an early, exploratory look into what is happening to livelihoods in emerging markets since the public health saga erupted and the economic crisis began to rapidly unfold.

Through an agile, rapid dipstick survey we concluded on March 27th, we share three early findings based on 1,521 respondents from Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Mexico, India, UK, and US, with the latter two countries for comparison with developed economies. Our objective is directional at this time, to surface focus areas that demonstrate the value of deeper exploration and that lend themselves to more rigorous analysis. Detailed analysis based on this survey can be found at the COVID-19 and Your Finances – BFA Global Worldwide Survey dashboard.

Photo courtesy of unerbul.