How Did Innovative Ideas Help SMEs in the Asia and the Pacific Region Survive the COVID-19 Pandemic?
November 2022
The challenges and global restrictions triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in unexpected hurdles for most businesses worldwide. Many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) were not able to survive the unprecedented challenges, however there were some that were able to survive, and even thrive, because of innovative ideas. Three SMEs from the Asia and the Pacific region share how they profited from protecting their intellectual property (IP) to harness the potential of their innovation.
Alaga Health – Access to medical services for all
Dr. Dexter Galban created Alaga Health, a digital health market place and health service hub in the Philippines to help patients who struggle to get a medical consultation. Dexter had a firsthand sad experience of this struggle when his grandmother passed away because his family was unable to access to and pay for quality home health care.
The idea for Alaga Health was conceptualized at the end of 2019, but it took Dexter a year to better explore the market in the context of the rise of telemedicine applications that boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dexter understood there was a strong potential for telehealth facilities, so Alaga Health launched and registered its trademark in December 2020.
Alaga Health brings patients and healthcare providers together on the same platform, and is accessible from anywhere in the Philippines. The application is user-friendly and special care has been taken to make the platform appealing to elderly patients. On Alaga Health, patients can schedule clinic visits, home visits, or telehealth consultations with any health professional participating in the system. Beyond consultations and visits, Alaga Health promotes health education with informational videos.
Resilience is a dish best served frozen: Green Rebel frozen vegan meals
Max Mandias and Helga Angelina, an Indonesian couple, jointly opened Burgreens, a modest vegan café in 2013, which later expanded to 16 chains across Indonesia. They were motivated by their passion for healthy food and the environment. They employ over 250 people throughout their chain cafés, but when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, sales plummeted, threatening the livelihood of its 250 employees and the survival of the company. They decided to transform their bestselling vegan dishes from the café into frozen food with minimal packaging, and launched a second company named “Green Rebel”. Six months after launching their frozen food under the Green Rebel brand, they grew in popularity, eventually registering their Green Rebel trademark internationally in eight countries. Max and Helga rely on trade secrets to protect the product formulation of their Green Rebel meals. Green Rebel has been an innovative lifeline for the Burgreens family, born out of the challenging circumstances of the pandemic.
Bobobox – Capsule hotels and cabins for the perfect escape
While many businesses were suffering during the COVID-19 pandemic, Indra Gunawan saw an opportunity. The hospitality industry took a massive hit during the pandemic and he noticed that people wanted to be outdoors, feel safe in open spaces and away from crowds.
Building from his already successful capsule hotel chain, Bobobox, Indra launched Bobocabin in February 2021, taking the capsule idea into nature in the form of cabins. The industrial designs of the Bobobox and Bobocabin capsules and cabins are protected in Indonesia. Indra has also registered the trademarks for Bobobox and Bobocabin in Indonesia and other countries in the region.
Adapting to the needs for pandemic and post-pandemic travel accommodation, Bobocabin has been a huge success with a 100% occupancy rate since February 2021. The company has now expanded to over 200 Bobocabins across six locations in Indonesia.
IP and the COVID-19 pandemic
IP has been essential for the survival of many businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing innovators, creators and entrepreneurs to transform their ingenuity into economic gains.
WIPO Director General Daren Tang recognized the need for greater support to member states in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and building back better as part of their sustainable post-COVID economic recovery efforts. In October 2021, WIPO launched a package of support measures to leverage IP in support of the creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship needed for job creation, investment, enterprise growth and socio-economic development post-pandemic.
The COVID-19 Response Package in particular aims to better engage with potential IP users in all regions, and in particular with SMEs, women, local and indigenous communities, researchers, innovators, creators and entrepreneurs.