Over 2,000 jobs saved since Covid-19 outbreak.
The Covid Business Rescue Assistance (Cobra) initiative has managed to save dozens of businesses and thousands of jobs. Cobra is South Africa’s largest non-profit organisation for distressed businesses.
It was started in March 2020 by management consultancy IQ Business, law firm Schindlers Attorneys and turnaround experts Engaged Business Turnaround, as well as a collective of 90 partner enterprises.
The initiative was created to help small and medium-sized businesses navigate the toughest months of lockdown and the ongoing economic crisis, and brings together expertise from a diverse range of professionals in law, business, technology and consulting to support struggling businesses.
To date, Cobra has availed the expertise of professionals to more than 320 businesses with direct assistance, which translates into more than 2,000 jobs being saved. Through their intervention, providers have been able to keep food on their families’ tables. The businesses saved operations across a diverse range of sectors, including the retail, automotive and restaurant industries.
The group’s collaborative model enables a range of businesses and professionals to work together in an effort to help ailing businesses.
The organisation is motivated by the notion that ensuring the survival of the South African economy is an act of good corporate citizenship. It believes thousands more businesses and jobs can be saved by sharing knowledge, skills and expertise.
“When the economy suffers, we all suffer; when the economy grows, there are more opportunities for everyone to become prosperous. South Africans are an agile and resilient people, who continuously adapt in the face of difficult change. There is no reason why our businesses cannot embody this commitment through Cobra as we work to save businesses, save jobs and secure a more hopeful future,” Cobra says.
