News — covid-19

Philip Udeh was born with sickle cell disease. Due to his condition, Udeh endured a painful crisis during his childhood. While in college, he suffered a life-threatening kidney failure but luck was on his side as he made a full recovery.

Having gone through this tumultuous experience through childhood to adulthood, Udeh set out to find solutions for his condition. He started researching into ways he can improve his health condition and implemented a plant-based diet, nutritional herbs, and physical activities including yoga and tai chi, according to Forbes.

His breakthrough came when he made smoothies using natural ingredients such as Ginseng, Ashwagandha (also known as Indian ginseng), and Spirulina. He gave what he had made to a few friends to try. Based on their feedback, Udeh realized his mixture had a positive influence on their health.

That was how Udeh founded Füd Vitamin Energy to help people born with sickle cell anemia get on with their lives. He then took steps to formalize his product to ensure that the formula for his product was right and meet all the legal requirements. He established contact with a food technologist and they worked together on creating a product that could be brought to market.

He also solicited the assistance of some freelancers to help in the branding of the product. “Whilst things were moving along I realized to make it work and take it to the next level it needed an injection of capital and to go full time,” Udeh told Forbes.

To get funding to scale up the production of his business, he applied for an accelerator program but his application was dismissed. Many entrepreneurs would have given up at this stage but Udeh persisted and through networking, he met an angel investor.

After receiving funding in 2018, he started producing Füd drinks in scalable quantities for sale in corporate markets and college campuses. He later secured a distribution deal with national retailer Sainsbury in May 2019.

He subsequently received an offer from entrepreneur Peter Jones at Great Britain‘s version of Shark Tank but he declined the offer. Udeh chose the route of using crowdfunding to raise funds from his loyal customers. He was successful with the crowdfunding and channeled the funds into a reformulation and sleek rebrand.

The rebranding has helped the Füd Vitamin Energy drive up sales despite COVID-19 driving down sales of businesses and resulting in the collapse of Black-owned businesses.

Meanwhile, Udeh is starting another crowdfunding this month so as to allow more of his customers increase their stake in the company.

The coronavirus pandemic, besides being a public health threat, has also negatively affected the global economy as it has reduced trade and mobility. At the micro-level, COVID-19 shutdowns have affected small business owners, particularly Black businesses.

According to research by the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a report by the National Bureau of Economic Research, 41 percent of Black-owned businesses have been shuttered by COVID-19, compared to just 17 percent of white-owned businesses.

“Nationally representative data on small businesses indicate that the number of active business owners fell by 22% from February to April 2020—the largest drop on record,” the report said. “Black businesses experienced the most acute decline, with a 41% drop. Latinx business owners fell by 32% and Asian business owners dropped by 26%. In contrast, the number of white business owners fell by 17 percent,” the report said.

The American government implemented a number of initiatives to support struggling businesses such as the Paycheck Protection Program. The federal government signature program for small businesses, however, left a significant gap. Coverage was only 20 percent for communities with a high Black population and less than 20 percent for communities with low population densities. 

“Weaker cash positions, weaker bank relationships, and preexisting funding gaps left Black firms with little cushion entering the crisis: even the healthiest Black firms were financially disadvantaged at the onset of COVID-19,” the report noted.

While many small Black businesses were going through a tumultuous phase, the Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce led by Harrison L. Blair stepped up to address the disparity. Blair was appointed into the position a little over a year ago.

The chamber, which is the oldest in America, has helped advocate for Black-owned businesses in the North Texas area, and Blair knows he had to do more to save more Black businesses from further collapse.

Since the pandemic, Blair and the chamber have assisted over 300 businesses to gain access to over $5 million in funding to help these companies bounce back, according to dmagazine.

He also ensured the implementation of the chamber’s annual programs that honor Black-owned businesses like Quest for Success, a platform designed to promote Black businesses and nonprofits in the North Texas region.

Blair said he is honored to be named one of D CEO’s Dallas 500 2021, especially after only being in this role for a little over a year. “It really is a testament to the support I have received from the community in being able to service this role”, said Blair.

Justin Volpe, the cop accused of beating and sodomizing Haitian immigrant, Abner Louima, in 1997, is asking for an early release after contracting COVID-19 in prison. Volpe sodomized Louima with a jagged wooden handle in August 1997 after claiming that Louima had punched him during a fight at East Flatbush, Brooklyn’s popular Club Rendez-Vous, Daily News reported.

Louima was arrested amid the fight that broke out, and reports said Volpe assaulted him while in the police car after the arrest. Volpe assaulted him again later that night at the police station. He then went ahead to sodomize a handcuffed Louima with the wood handle from either a broomstick or plunger, trial testimony and witnesses said. Authorities never found the instrument.

Louima, who claimed he was repeatedly called “n—-r” during the attack and was left bleeding on the floor of a cell, spent two months in a hospital after surgery for his injuries. Reports said he suffered a ruptured colon and bladder, and his teeth were destroyed in the attack. When news of the attack broke, mass protests were held in the U.S.

Volpe, who has since been at a federal prison in Texas for 21 years over the incident, now wants an early release. “I tested positive for COVID-19 and had several symptoms. No medical treatment of any kind was provided or offered,” Volpe wrote in a release filing on his own behalf.

“Please let me have the chance to meet any needs with private insurance and at home with my family’s love.”

Louima now lives in Miami. He said even though he has forgiven Volpe, he will never forget the attack. He believes that it is up to the justice system to decide whether or not to release Volpe. “It’s so many years after the crime. Twenty-one years is not 21 days. I think at least he’s spent enough time thinking about his actions,” Louima told Daily News.

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated many problems and longstanding issues around the country. One of those problems is access to healthy food. According to the Food Bank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore, there is only one supermarket within a two-mile radius for 1,700 families living in low-income neighborhoods. As a solution, one mother-daughter duo took initiative and created a grocery store to serve the community.

Renee Trueheart and her daughter, Tyra Gallagher, decided to help out their community in Henrico County in Richmond, Virginia, by opening the Darrell’s Family Supermarket earlier this month. After other food options for locals closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, Gallagher, who works with patients on dialysis, has received much praise around how this kind of store is needed in the community.

“A lot of my patients struggle with being able to get the proper food they need,” said Gallagher in an interview with WRIC. “We’ve seen the disparities that Black and brown people face looking for clean, safe, and fresh produce in this area. That’s why we’re here.”

Gallagher says she is grateful for the community support she and her mother received throughout the difficulties of opening a business during a pandemic.

“We are shocked at all of the positive feedback we have received, praising us for what we are doing,” she said of the neighborhood response to VPM News. “We’ve even had people say they will drive all the way from Northern Virginia just to support.”

When two lives are at stake and it involves a baby and a mother, the tendency is for the mother to want her baby saved over her life. Monique Jones took that bittersweet decision in early September when she was intubated, and her baby girl’s life hung in the balance. The nurse who walked her through the process is now a godmother to her patient’s child.

Jones was brought in when she reported having shortness of breath and some chills. She did not link it to the novel coronavirus because she is one person who adheres to all the safety protocols.

She washes her hands regularly, uses a face mask and stays indoors except when she needs to pick up groceries from the supermarket. Sadly, according to Good Morning America (GMA), the mother of two tested positive for COVID-19 while she was pregnant.

An adamant Jones did not want to be placed on a ventilator, neither did she want to have a C-section performed on her. “It was possible that I wouldn’t live — that’s all I was thinking,” said Jones. “They asked me if it was possible to take my baby out. At first, I told them no, but I wasn’t getting any better.”

Jones was scared but her nurse, Caitlyn Obrock, gave her the assurance that all will be well with them especially her baby if she gives them the go-ahead. “She was scared,” nurse Obrock recalled to GMA. “I was very invested in her, hoping and praying for a good outcome.”

Doctors at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis had to perform the early C-section to save her daughter, Zamyrah Prewitt’s life. Baby Prewitt arrived on September 28, weighing 2 pounds, 5 ounces at 29 weeks and was immediately rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit where she spent the first two months of her life, WVLT reported.

The new mother was moved in October after she woke up from her intubation to a rehab clinic to work on her occupational, speech and physical therapy. As Jones was working hard to get better for the much-awaited reunion with her baby before Christmas, Obrock raised $2000 in gifts for the family and organized a baby shower for her because she empathized with her.

“The way she started out motherhood with this baby was unfair and we wanted her to know how special and loved she is,” Obrock said. “She’s a miracle,” she added. “Her and her baby.”

A Christmas miracle did happen and Jones and Zamyrah were home in time for Christmas. According to Jones, she made it out of the hospital because she felt as though she was fighting for her family and not herself.

She is grateful to her nuclear family for standing by her through it all and even more appreciative of Obrock for the extra love shown her. Right after getting home, Jones asked her nurse to be her baby’s godmother and invited her to join her extended family, People reported.

The world of work can sometimes be vulnerable to shocks and global events leading to job cuts or losses. For instance, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the revenues of many companies, resulting in job cuts and dismissals.

Before the pandemic, hiring and firing was a normal occurrence in the world of work. Many adapted, nonetheless. Others found jobs elsewhere while others decided to open their own firm or become their own boss.

Such is the story of Patrick Glanville, who is very skilled in making chocolate. After years of going through the horrific experience of being dismissed, rehired and fired again, he felt he had had enough and wanted to be his own boss.

Glanville launched his own chocolate company, 3 Some chocolate, a chocolate brand that combines 3 flavors into 1, and offers it in a pack of 3. The company was created by his desire to utilize his skills as an artist and culinary artist, according to Blackbusiness.

Since he established the company in 2017 with his partner, Kristin Parker-Glanville, it has recorded more than 400,000 units sold with over 75, 000 customers dotted across the United States and beyond. It recently saw a spike in online sales, making over $130,000 in less than a month.

Born and raised in Southside Jamaica, Queens, Glanville learned the art of chocolate making from his grandmother at the age of 10. He became a certified chocolatier after studying at the Barry Callebaut Chocolate Academy in Lebbeke, Belgium alongside his partner, Kristin.

Kristin, born in Lower East Side of Manhattan, doubles as the CFO/Co-CEO of 3 Some Chocolates. She also has a background in business administration, operations and finance. Her job includes working to protect the company’s brand.

With his background in graphic design, management, and sales, Glanville created the design of the products as well as the website and recipes while being in charge of marketing.

Just like many Black startups, securing funds to expand the business is often difficult. According to the Harvard Business Review, Black founders receive less than 1 percent of venture capital. Black women founders represent less than 0.2% of companies that receive such funding. Also, 81% of venture capital fund have no Black investors while 70% of VCs are White and only 3% are Black.

To overcome funding challenges, Glanville and his partner launched a CrowdFunding campaign where many investors have come on board to join their chocolate journey. Glanville has, as of Saturday, raised $301,236 on Wefunder. 

When Mahmoud Jibril stood in Libya’s free elections in 2012 after heading the rebel government that helped overthrow Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, many believed that he could unify the country. Libya, which had then just emerged from a brutal conflict, needed to get back on its feet and Jibril’s supporters felt he was the right man to help steer affairs of the country.

But others were not so enthused about him, considering he had links with Gaddafi. Jibril was an economic advisor to the Gaddafi government in its last years before he joined the revolution in 2011. A few weeks after the uprising began, Jibril was made head of the rebel National Transitional Council (NTC), the interim government that eventually ousted and killed Gaddafi.

Jibril would toward the end of the conflict become the man of the moment in Libya, with his government recognized as the “sole legitimate representative” of Libya by UN states including France, the United Kingdom, the United States, Turkey, and Iran. Indeed, he fulfilled his promise to resign as interim prime minister for the NTC after “Libya’s liberation.”

Becoming the head of the National Forces Alliance, one of the largest political parties in Libya, Jibril contested in the 2012 democratic elections. His party did win the vote but did not grab a majority in parliament. Parliament then chose an independent candidate to become prime minister. Violence broke out again in Libya in subsequent years, and Jibril was forced to leave the country to abroad. Not much was heard from the Libyan leader until this April when his party confirmed that he had died of the coronavirus. The 68-year-old died in Cairo where he had been hospitalized for two weeks after suffering from cardiac arrest. Three days later, he tested positive for coronavirus.

Born in 1952, Jibril graduated in Economics and Political Science from Cairo University in 1975 before earning a master’s degree in political science and a Ph.D. in strategic planning and decision-making from the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. He then taught strategic planning and decision-making at the university for many years and was behind many leadership training programs in several Arab states.

Jibril did write many books and also served as the head of the Libyan National Planning Council. By 2009, he was working with the Gaddafi government as chairman of the National Economic Development Board (NEDB), which was created to stir up investment in Libya. But by the start of 2011, Jibril had defected to the rebel National Transitional Council after engaging in a project aimed at establishing a democratic state.

South Africa's president has announced a raft of new restrictions in a major city as the nation stares down a possible coronavirus resurgence. 

This has been a tough year for the nation with Africa’s highest coronavirus burden, President Cyril Ramaphosa acknowledged in a Thursday night speech.

But now, as many South Africans plan to embark on a monthlong summer holiday, now is not the time for South Africa to let down its guard, he warned. 

“As we want to relax, this virus does not relax.  And this virus does not take a holiday,” he said.  “This 2020 has been a difficult year for us as a nation and as a country. It has severely tested our resolve and demanded great sacrifices of each and every one of us. But even as the holidays approach, we cannot let our guard down. Unless we take personal responsibility for our health and the health of others, more people are going to become infected. More people are going to die.”

Nearly 22,000 South Africans have already died, he noted.  

To that end, he announced restrictions for one of the country’s major metropoles, Nelson Mandela Bay. The coastal city, also known as Port Elizabeth, has recently seen a jump in confirmed cases. 

The city’s one million residents now must observe a nighttime curfew and are restricted in both buying and consuming alcohol in public. Gatherings are now limited to 250 people for outdoor events and 100 for indoor events. 

He also said that countrywide, post-funeral gatherings -- which Ramaphosa referred to as “after-tears parties” -- are prohibited.

Johannesburg, the nation’s economic hub, is known for drawing people from around the country. During the end-of-year holidays, the city empties out as many residents return to their families. Security guard Eric Kabelo plans to return to Carletonville, a small town southwest of Johannesburg, for the season. Kabelo, who is 27, says he has no quibble with the restrictions. 

“I think it’s fine,” he said. “Because of alcohol, it gives us a problem. You can check -- a lot of people, they get into accidents, a lot of things are happening. I think the restriction is better.”

Office manager Thando Zondi is also hoping to travel this holiday season, to her home in KwaZulu-Natal province. No restrictions have been announced for that area, she said. 

“His speech yesterday was mostly for (Port Elizabeth), and I’m in Gauteng so I’m not really affected,” she said. “We’re still on level 1, so it didn’t change anything for us, so I’m not affected, I’m fine.” 

However, in his half-hour televised “family meeting,” President Ramaphosa reminded all South Africans that they have a role to play in keeping the resurgence contained.

“By far the greatest contributing cause of infections is that many people are not wearing masks and are not observing proper hygiene and social distancing,” the South African leader said. “As I said during our last family meeting, at alert level one, we have the measures we need to control the virus, all the tools in place, but our main problem is that there are parts of our country where people are not complying with the current restrictions and the basic prevention measures are not being followed.

“Fellow South Africans, we must change our behavior now to prevent a resurgence of the virus and manage outbreaks wherever they occur,” he added. “If we think of this pandemic like a bushfire, we need to quickly extinguish the flare-ups, the flames, before they turn into a big wildfire like an inferno.”

Kenya’s tourism sector lost close to $1 billion in revenue between January and October, when numbers of foreign visitors fell by two thirds due to COVID-19, the Tourism Ministry said on Wednesday.

From safaris in the Maasai Mara and other world-beating wildlife reserves to holidays on pristine Indian Ocean beaches, Kenya’s tourism industry contributes 10% of economic output and employs over 2 million people.

It brought in the equivalent of 163.5 billion shillings last year, and the government had initially expected that figure to grow 1% in 2020.

But international visitors fell to fewer than 500 000 in the first 10 months from 1.7 million in the same period last year, the Ministry said, knocking 110 billion Kenyan shillings ($995 million) off revenues that had been predicted to reach 147.5 billion shillings.

Minister for Tourism Najib Balala said that there had been a slight rise in visitor numbers following the lifting of travel restrictions in August.

The government was “optimistic the situation will gradually improve once the (COVID) vaccines being developed become readily available to the masses,” he said in a statement.

Kenya has had nearly 84 000 confirmed coronavirus cases,with 1 469 deaths, according to data from the World Health Organisation.

Between 2012 and 2015, visitor numbers to Kenya fell after a spate of attacks claimed by al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab, which wants Nairobi to pull troops out of neighbouring Somalia.

A fall in attacks in subsequent years helped the sector to rebound.

For Alioune Ndiaye, chief executive of Orange Middle East and Africa, and a tele­coms veteran since the 1980s, the past few months have presented a challenge to rival any seen in the industry’s recent history. 

“This pandemic has had a tremendous impact on our lives, on our jobs, on our families and activities – it’s impossible to overstate how much change we’ve had to withstand since March,” says Ndiaye. 

As the coronavirus hit the company’s 18 markets throughout the region, businesses and customers facing lockdowns and home-working sparked a huge increase in data use, putting a strain on the operator’s mobile and fixed broadband infrastructure.  

“Some of our countries have seen data traffic increase by 60% in only one or two weeks, usually during the lockdowns, and this has put our mobile and fixed networks under some stress, but thanks to all our previous investments we could withstand the sudden increase with almost no decline in quality or availability of our services, and this could explain why we’ve been resilient in our financial results,” he says.   

While the pandemic has buffeted corporates across the continent, Orange Middle East and Africa revenues grew 3.8% year-on-year in the first half of 2020 to €2.8bn ($3.3bn) and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation rose by more than 7%. The regional performance was driven by a 40% increase in 4G customers year on year to 27.9m, by broadband, and by mobile money service Orange Money. 

“Data usage by mobile phones has nearly doubled in a year. There were three phases – acceleration in the second quarter, more stable progression in the third quarter and a renewed progression from September,” says Ndiaye.  

Data revenue grew by 26% in the second quarter, while home working contributed to the number of fixed broadband customers increasing 31% year-on-year to 1.4m, enabling fixed broadband revenue growth of 33% in the second quarter. Yet adapting to this surge in demand has been an immense technical challenge for Orange, says Ndiaye.

Annual infrastructure investments of €1bn helped it to withstand the pressure at the height of the pandemic, but the firm has had to further boost its technology and work more closely with the US tech giants who account for the majority of its traffic. 

“The huge increase in traffic was mainly on Google and Facebook content, so we had to work closely with these players in order to better control the impact on our networks. This rapid increase in international capacity also had to be implemented on submarine routes in Morocco and Jordan, and we also increased our capacity on satellite in the DRC and Central African Republic. Some data network cores had to be resized and we did this in Jordan, Morocco and Senegal.” 

As well as improvements to physical infrastructure, Ndiaye also had to oversee an operational restructuring as Orange attempted to meet customer demand while  adapting to remote working and new in-country regulations. 

“We set up a crisis committee in each country chaired by the CEO of the operation in the country. We also updated our national business continuity plans to comply with new requirements. We cancelled all seminars and events and used barriers in physical workspaces and changed to digital modes where possible. The entire ecosystem of our operations had to adapt – this crisis has really exceeded in its form and scope the working hypothesis we had until now.” 

Data consumption and mobile money fuel growth 

As well as thrusting the telecoms sector to the fore as a critical communications medium for governments and citizens, the pandemic is accelerating industry trends that have long been brewing in Africa, including increased data consumption and smartphone ownership, widespread mobile money adoption and the installation of broadband for homes and businesses. Orange is positioning itself to capitalise on these shifts, says Ndiaye. 

“Our digital portals show traffic increased by 40% and data usage by business customers went up in many of our countries. We have started reflecting on the impact of the crisis, particularly the increase in teleworking for companies and employees, most clearly formulated in the widespread demand of B2B customers to increase the flexibility of the office and adapt to the uncertainties inherent in this crisis. This reflection could lead us to keep the traffic going, going forwards.” 

Nowhere is this acceleration more evident than in mobile money. Orange Money’s active customer base totalled 19.6m by June 30, having registered 18.9% year-on-year growth as governments encouraged citizens to avoid physical cash. Revenues for the service grew 12.5% in the second quarter of the year.

Orange is planning to build on this momentum through this year’s launch of Orange Bank Africa, which will work with Orange Money to offer a range of savings and microcredit services which will allow customers to borrow as little as CFA5,000 ($9) using their mobile phone. 

The bank aims to attract 10m customers and €100m in net banking income within 5 years. The first commercial launch will be in Côte d’Ivoire before branches open in Senegal, Mali and Burkina Faso, subject to approval from BCEAO, the region’s banking regulator.  

“We are relying on growth levers like mobile money and banking,” confirms Ndiaye.  

Lockdown unearthed a lot of talents and brought forth innovation at its best as many sought ways to survive time in isolation. Wole Soyinka used his time to break his almost 50 years novel hiatus and has announced the release of a new novel.

The brilliant Nigerian writer and political activist, who has been very critical about happenings within Nigerian politics and Africa in general, was the first African to win the Nobel Prize for literature in 1986.

With over 50 pieces of work, his writings include two novels, The Interpreters, in 1965 and Season of Anomy, in 1973. He has also written poems, memoirs, and essays that capture his cultural traditions and use of rich language.

The lockdown inspired novel, Chronicles of the Happiest People on Earth, is the third one by the prolific writer. The 524-page book is set to be released on December 1, 2020.

Soyinka’s publisher, Bookcraft, speaks highly of the novel, according to The Guardian. “This novel has got everything – friendship and betrayal; faith and treachery; hope and cynicism; murder, mayhem and no shortage of drama, all set against the backdrop of contemporary Nigeria,” said the publisher.

“As you would expect from a Soyinka work, it’s got plenty of colourful characters, profound insights, witty commentary, and the most elegant language.”

Soyinka is known to be extra creative when in a confined location. His stint in prison in 1967 made his writing even louder. Soyinka was arrested for illegally visiting the secessionist territory Biafra in 1967. He had met with the secessionist leader, military governor Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu in Enugu in 1966, and was forced to go into hiding as he was labeled a spy during the civil strife between the Nigerian government and Biafra.

In prison, despite the lack of writing materials, he was able to produce a significant body of poems and notes criticizing the Nigerian government. Some of his works, including The Lion and The Jewel, The Trials of Brother Jero and The Strong Breed were produced in Ghana and New York. 

In an interview with This is Lagos, Soyinka revealed that the lockdown period did not stifle his creativity, rather, it enabled him to write a new novel and do theater work again as he is set to co-direct a revival of his play Death and the King’s Horseman in Lagos this December.

Soyinka’s writings and drama truly reflect the goings-on in the cultural and political life of Africans. His philosophical plays include The Road (1965) and Death and the King’s Horseman (performed 1976, published 1975).

The Nigerian playwright and poet continues to engage in political activism, highlighting the different situations people of Nigeria and other Black people are going through in the world. He recently came to the limelight for tearing up his green card days after American President Donald Trump was elected.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many to stay indoors to combat the viral spread. While inside, people have been getting into different hobbies to promote self-care during anxious times. For one woman, her love of floral arrangements in her pastime led to a business opportunity.

Talia Boone is the founder of Postal Petals, a farm-direct delivery service that allows consumers to order flowers in bulk for DIY activities. What motivated Boone to start her business was when she wanted to make her own floral arrangements at home while in quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic and couldn’t find any options to buy flowers in bulk for her DIY projects since she wasn’t buying as a business.

“I recognized a hole in the marketplace and decided it was a business opportunity,” says Boone in an interview with BLACK ENTERPRISE via email.”There was no farm-to-table model for fresh flowers in the same way for fresh produce boxes. Like many industries, I also saw that the flower industry was realizing that they’d need to pivot in some way to survive while in this pandemic, especially in the wake of events and weddings (some of their biggest moneymakers) being halted due to lockdowns. This was an opportunity to engage with flower farms in a way they likely would not have been open to pre-pandemic.

Boone works with local farms across the country to source her fresh flowers who were open to the opportunity after the COVID-19 outbreak disrupt their industry. “The pandemic’s impact on the flower industry led to some farm’s openness to entertaining unconventional fulfillment and getting their flowers to consumers efficiently,” she says.

“I took about a week to brainstorm the framework that is now Postal Petals, circled back to him with a more refined concept, and just 3 months later, Postal Petals beta launched with nearly 20 domestic flower farms shipping for us. Interestingly enough, now that more farms are understanding the model, we’ve had others recently reach out to us about partnering. ”

Boone says the pandemic is what provided an opportunity for her business to blossom as a way to help people connect virtually to arrange flowers during the quarantine. “The flower industry is not easy to infiltrate, so the pandemic really opened the door for Postal Petals even to be able to exist,” she states.

“Because of the pandemic, the flower farms were a lot more receptive to this new business model and participating in our farm-to-table flower box model. Also, taking into account our virtual flower arranging experiences providing a way for people to gather virtually, Postal Petals is really fit for a time.”