The Lockdown Economy initiative consists of 1) the interview series with entrepreneurs affected by the lockdown; and 2) the Academy which provides real-time education materials about entrepreneurship during the lockdown to students worldwide.
The interview series is prepared by the coordinator of the initiative on the side of the Think Tank AlterContacts, Julia Skupchenko. The interviews cover questions such as the nature and history of the business; the state of business before, during and after lockdown; key challenges brought about by the quarantine and social distancing; what did the business owner try to overcome them; what lessons did she or he take out from this experience; what is the way forward. It is a real source of inspiration for SMEs no matter what stage of business they are in. They learn from examples from around the world of what can be done. European Commission report on SMEs highlights the key role of entrepreneurial education and training that enhances business knowledge and skills in overcoming the pandemic.
The second part of the initiative is the Academy. The Lockdown Economy gives us unique educational materials and access to concrete cases which could be used along with Harvard, KPMG, McKinsey and other business cases. By integrating lessons from multiple countries on several continents, we provide a comprehensive overview of how one can proceed in entrepreneurship in the new world. Joined by our partner universities we are designing educational programs that are based on real case studies from the lockdown. We have the ambition to publish our online courses on EdX where millions of students worldwide will get access to them. We expect these materials to be distributed across various geographies, different levels of education and age groups.

The Lockdown Economy is a social-educational international initiative. It is a series of interviews where entrepreneurs from various parts of the world and occupations share how the lockdown has affected them and what their market looks like now. The objective is to give them a forum to speak, provide a source of inspiration to entrepreneurs, give access to role models, ideas, ways to adapt and how to overcome the crisis of COVID-19. It is a powerful resource of educational materials. It allows students to prepare for the new economy.

https://lockdowneconomy.org