Some small caps are finding new opportunities during the Covid-19 pandemic.
While the extreme market volatility over the past weeks creates a lot of uncertainly, some companies have seen business increase amid the Covid-19 epidemic. Here are a handful of small caps expanding in a number of different sectors far from traditional healthcare, from quarantine tracking technology to the use of drones and cameras to monitor temperatures of large numbers of people.
Blockchain Holdings Ltd. (BCX:CSE) announced on March 20 that it had entered into a binding agreement to acquire 100% of the rights and interest in a self-quarantine monitoring program from WiSilica Inc. The program, called IMSafe, is currently being used by the Hong Kong government to keep track of people arriving from overseas, and the company expects its use to expand to other countries. TRACEsafe wristbands pair with a cell phone, and using the phone's GPS a person's location can be known at all times.
"TRACEsafe has been adapted to fit the needs of the pandemic," Blockchain Holdings CEO Wayne Lloyd told Streetwise Reports. "The hospital-style wristband pairs with a person's cell phone so that the government knows if that person is maintaining quarantine at all times. The Hong Kong government is now requiring its use for all people arriving into the area, putting bands on people as they go through customs and pairing it with their phones. Then the government knows that that person is with their phone and hasn't left the self-quarantine location."
Prior to the adoption of TRACEsafe, travelers were required to turn on location services on What's App or other applications. But a person could just leave the phone behind and break quarantine.
Privacy issues are a concern when tracking people, but "the brilliance of this product is that it's disposable, and the battery is not replaceable or rechargeable," Lloyd explained. "That means after four weeks, the battery dies and you're not tracked anymore."
If a person cuts it off, the TRACEsafe wristband is tamper evident and the person could be fined HK$25,000 and jailed for six months, Lloyd stated.
"Wristbands have been in use in Hong Kong since February, and more than 10,000 have been used," Lloyd explained. "Based on the success of the program in Hong Kong, and confirmed orders in excess of 65,000 units, TRACEsafe expects to roll out in multiple countries in the coming weeks and months," the company stated.
"The Coronavirus outbreak is widely expected to change how people shop, travel, and work for years to come and TRACEsafe could play an important part in implementing new policies," Lloyd stated.
Technical analyst Clive Maund wrote on March 23, on Blockchain Holdings shares, we "stay long and it is rated a buy with a close stop if it does as expected and opens up."
Datable Technology Corp. (DAC:TSX.V; TTMZF:USOTC) provides a suite of digital marketing applications, PLATFORM3, sold as Software as a Service, that specializes in online consumer loyalty and reward programs for major brands. It counts Universal Pictures, General Mills, Unilever and Toro among the many brands using its service. A number of the brands are food, beverages and household products, "which are expected to remain in demand during the crisis," the company stated.
"Many of our customers offer rewards and loyalty for in-store and online purchasing. Given that consumers may prefer to shop from home to avoid public spaces, Datable is facilitating the expansion of shop-from-home options," the firm explained.
In February, Datable announced that it expected revenue would grow by over 100% in 2020, with expenses increasing by about 10% compared to 2019 and gross margin to remain at about 70% in 2020. "Datable's progress in March 2020 has increased the company's confidence in this guidance," the company noted.
Draganfly Inc. (DFLY:CSE; DFLYF:OTCQB), a company that specializes in unmanned vehicle technology, announced at the end of March that it has been selected as the exclusive integration partner for the Vital Intelligence Project. Working with Vital Intelligence Inc. and in conjunction with the University of South Australia, the project uses technology developed in collaboration with the Australian Department of Defence Science and Technology Group.
The program monitors health and respiratory function using camera networks as well as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and remotely piloted aircraft systems. The technology is being commercialized for "health monitoring and detection of infectious and respiratory conditions including monitoring temperatures, heart and respiratory rates, amongst crowds, workforces, airlines, cruise ships, potential at-risk groups, i.e., seniors in care facilities, convention centers, border crossings or critical infrastructure facilities," the company stated.
The agreement with Draganfly calls for an initial budget of up to $1.5 million to "utilize its engineering, integration and distribution expertise as well as its secure supply chain for immediate commercialization and deployment of the technology."
"Draganfly has been selected because of its proven leadership in an industry so important to public safety at such a critical time. We look forward to working with global agencies and industry to rapidly deploy this important technology," said Cameron Chell, CEO of Draganfly.
"Draganfly is honored to work on such an important project given the current pandemic facing the world with COVID-19. Health and respiratory monitoring will be vital for not only detection, but also utilizing the data to understand health trends. As we move forward, drones and autonomous technology doing detection will be an important part of ensuring public safety," said Andy Card, Director of Draganfly and former Secretary of Transportation and White House Chief of Staff.
Recruiter.com Group Inc. (RCRT:OTCQB) aggregates over 20,000 small and independent recruiters under a common platform. It has responded to the pandemic crisis by identifying large pockets of hiring in the quickly changing job market. "To share this knowledge of the job market and hiring opportunities, Recruiter put together informational content on the top companies hiring now and created a webinar series for recruitment professionals on top areas of hiring demand," the company stated.
Rick Roberts, president of Recruiting Solutions, said, "Recruiter.com has been very agile and positive in responding to shifting client needs. Recent events related to COVID-19 have actually caused an uptick in our available open jobs due to our focus on areas of continued strong demand, such as healthcare, logistics, telecom and financial services. Interestingly, during the most recent week, job listings on the platform were up 250%."
The company also made its recruitment training program free, growing the program by 50%; these active learners will become certified recruiters upon completion of the program.
VSBLTY Groupe Technologies Corp. (VSBY:CSE; VSBGF:OTC; 5VS:FSE) announced on March 31 that it in partnership with RadarApp, a Smart Cities Solutions provider, it is testing crowd temperature scanning in Mexico City as a "tool to help identify potential at risk individuals and ultimately reduce the spread of disease."
The company is in the process of installing thousands of security kits that use VSBLTY software as the first phase of the Smart City intelligent camera network program. "In addition to a remarkable impact on crime reduction, VSBLTY is working with RadarApp to test the addition of infrared camera capability that enables temperature scanning of crowds in various locations along with a correlation to face capture," the company noted.
The system uses real-time, non-contact camera technology that connects with a mobile app. "A major objective of the program is to provide an efficient temperature screening tool for monitoring public spaces with the pre-emptive scanning of persons entering facilities such as restaurants, bars, schools, and hospitals. Also being explored is the application of this temperature monitoring capability to Mexico City buses and transit operations," VSBLTY stated.
VSBLTY Co-founder and CEO Jay Hutton said, "It is hoped that the perfection and deployment of this technology will serve as a public screening tool to help identify individuals who may be a potential risk of spreading disease and assist in accelerating the safe return to normality we are all desperately seeking."
Disclosure:
1) Patrice Fusillo compiled this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an employee. She or members of her household own securities of the following companies mentioned in the article: None. She or members of her household are paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None.
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