According to the data provided by the International Council for Small Business (ICSB), formal and informal Micro-, Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) make up over 90% of all firms and account on average for 60-70% of total employment and 50% of GDP.
MSMEs are considered to be more vulnerable to natural hazards than larger firms, given the more limited range of risk-management mechanisms they can access. Furthermore, MSMEs in developing countries have additional characteristics that can exacerbate their vulnerability which:
- keeps them out of the reach of government Disaster Risk Management programmes and strategies, for example,insurance
- constrains the ability of MSMEs to diversify their supply and customer base; and
- implies a lack of compliance with norms and regulations that can increase disaster risk for them and for their employees (e.g. operations in informal settlements, lack of social protection for their employees etc.).
MSMEs do not often have Business Continuity Plans in place, like large companies do. However, understanding the disaster risk and taking precautionary measures could help to mitigate many of the risks and help the MSMEs to bounce back after a disaster strikes. CBi Partners have developed some tools for MSME business continuity.
- Map of SME-Support Measures in Response to COVID-19 (World Bank)
- Getting Your Workplace Ready for COVID-19 (WHO)
- Coronavirus Guidelines for Business (ICC)
- Covid-19 Business Continuity Guide (ICC)
- Coronavirus Response Toolkit (U.S. Chamber of Commerce)
- Guidance for Employers to Plan and Respond to COVID-19 (U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation)
- COVID-19 Rapid Response Checklist (BCG)
- Business Continuity Planning Checklist of Preparatory Actions in Responding to COVID-19 (Government of Ireland: Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation)
- Enterprise Pandemic Preparedness Check (Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation)
- Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers to Plan and Respond to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- COVID-19 Small Business Continuity Toolkit (UNDRR)
- SME Policy Responses (OECD)
- Business resilience in the face of COVID-19 (UNDRR)
- Occupational safety and health tips for workplaces (ILO)
- Sectoral tools and instruments to protect workers from the pandemic (ILO)
- Action Checklist: Prevention and Mitigation of COVID-19 at Work (ILO)
- COVID-19 and Enterprise Briefing Note (N°11) (ILO)
- The six-step COVID-19 business continuity plan (ILO)
- Online training course on building business resilience in the face of COVID-19 for small and medium enterprises (UNDRR)
- Guidance for employers and business to enhance migrant worker protection during the current health crisis (IOM)
- Operational support and logistics disease community package (WHO)
- Message from ILO's Director-General Guy Ryder for International MSME Day 2020 (ILO)
- Protecting Your Employees and Business from Pandemic Human Influenza Action manual for small and medium-sized enterprises (ILO)
- Pandemic Influenza Continuity of Operations Annex Template Instructions (FEMA)
- Pandemic influenza checklist for businesses (the UK government)
- Business Pandemic Influenza Planning Checklist (the U.S. HHS and CDC)
- Travel Industry Pandemic Influenza Planning Checklist (the U.S. HHS and CDC)
- List of Useful Websites for Influenza Pandemic Preparedness in Business Sector (ABAC)
The Alliance for Risk Management and Business Continuity (AGERCA) is an independent non-governmental organization (NGO) that provides a mechanism for the Haitian private sector to support the national system for risk and disaster management and to enable businesses of all sizes to recover quickly and build forward better from crises.
As a member of the national emergency operations center, AGERCA participated in national emergency coordination meetings. They supported the General Directorate of Civil Protection in coordinating the response of the private sector, civil society and Haitian diaspora. On 14 August, following a request from the Haitian government, AGERCA provided phone credits to support information management and coordination. AGERCA also immediately started to map local private sector resources and capacities that could be mobilized to support disaster relief in cooperation with its members. In addition to financial contributions, AGERCA member companies and partners made in-kind donations of critical items including thousands of gallons potable water, clothes, solar-powered refrigerators, etc. AGERCA also posted regular situation reports and deployed a staff member to the south of Haiti to support the earthquake response in the most affected communities.
For more information, please view the press release.
For up-to-date information about the current situation in Haiti, please visit AGERCA on Twitter.
To learn more about AGERCA and how the private sector can help in Haiti, please contact Tiina Mylly, CBi Secretariat: tiina.mylly@undp.org
The Alliance for Risk Management and Business Continuity (AGERCA) is an independent non-governmental organization (NGO) that provides a mechanism for the Haitian private sector to support the national system for risk and disaster management and to enable businesses of all sizes to recover quickly and build forward better from crises.
As a member of the national emergency operations center, AGERCA participated in national emergency coordination meetings. They supported the General Directorate of Civil Protection in coordinating the response of the private sector, civil society and Haitian diaspora. On 14 August, following a request from the Haitian government, AGERCA provided phone credits to support information management and coordination. AGERCA also immediately started to map local private sector resources and capacities that could be mobilized to support disaster relief in cooperation with its members. In addition to financial contributions, AGERCA member companies and partners made in-kind donations of critical items including thousands of gallons potable water, clothes, solar-powered refrigerators, etc. AGERCA also posted regular situation reports and deployed a staff member to the south of Haiti to support the earthquake response in the most affected communities.
For more information, please view the press release.
For up-to-date information about the current situation in Haiti, please visit AGERCA on Twitter.
To learn more about AGERCA and how the private sector can help in Haiti, please contact Tiina Mylly, CBi Secretariat: tiina.mylly@undp.org
The Alliance for Risk Management and Business Continuity (AGERCA) is an independent non-governmental organization (NGO) that provides a mechanism for the Haitian private sector to support the national system for risk and disaster management and to enable businesses of all sizes to recover quickly and build forward better from crises.
As a member of the national emergency operations center, AGERCA participated in national emergency coordination meetings. They supported the General Directorate of Civil Protection in coordinating the response of the private sector, civil society and Haitian diaspora. On 14 August, following a request from the Haitian government, AGERCA provided phone credits to support information management and coordination. AGERCA also immediately started to map local private sector resources and capacities that could be mobilized to support disaster relief in cooperation with its members. In addition to financial contributions, AGERCA member companies and partners made in-kind donations of critical items including thousands of gallons potable water, clothes, solar-powered refrigerators, etc. AGERCA also posted regular situation reports and deployed a staff member to the south of Haiti to support the earthquake response in the most affected communities.
For more information, please view the press release.
For up-to-date information about the current situation in Haiti, please visit AGERCA on Twitter.
To learn more about AGERCA and how the private sector can help in Haiti, please contact Tiina Mylly, CBi Secretariat: tiina.mylly@undp.org
The Alliance for Risk Management and Business Continuity (AGERCA) is an independent non-governmental organization (NGO) that provides a mechanism for the Haitian private sector to support the national system for risk and disaster management and to enable businesses of all sizes to recover quickly and build forward better from crises.
As a member of the national emergency operations center, AGERCA participated in national emergency coordination meetings. They supported the General Directorate of Civil Protection in coordinating the response of the private sector, civil society and Haitian diaspora. On 14 August, following a request from the Haitian government, AGERCA provided phone credits to support information management and coordination. AGERCA also immediately started to map local private sector resources and capacities that could be mobilized to support disaster relief in cooperation with its members. In addition to financial contributions, AGERCA member companies and partners made in-kind donations of critical items including thousands of gallons potable water, clothes, solar-powered refrigerators, etc. AGERCA also posted regular situation reports and deployed a staff member to the south of Haiti to support the earthquake response in the most affected communities.
For more information, please view the press release.
For up-to-date information about the current situation in Haiti, please visit AGERCA on Twitter.
To learn more about AGERCA and how the private sector can help in Haiti, please contact Tiina Mylly, CBi Secretariat: tiina.mylly@undp.org
The Alliance for Risk Management and Business Continuity (AGERCA) is an independent non-governmental organization (NGO) that provides a mechanism for the Haitian private sector to support the national system for risk and disaster management and to enable businesses of all sizes to recover quickly and build forward better from crises.
As a member of the national emergency operations center, AGERCA participated in national emergency coordination meetings. They supported the General Directorate of Civil Protection in coordinating the response of the private sector, civil society and Haitian diaspora. On 14 August, following a request from the Haitian government, AGERCA provided phone credits to support information management and coordination. AGERCA also immediately started to map local private sector resources and capacities that could be mobilized to support disaster relief in cooperation with its members. In addition to financial contributions, AGERCA member companies and partners made in-kind donations of critical items including thousands of gallons potable water, clothes, solar-powered refrigerators, etc. AGERCA also posted regular situation reports and deployed a staff member to the south of Haiti to support the earthquake response in the most affected communities.
For more information, please view the press release.
For up-to-date information about the current situation in Haiti, please visit AGERCA on Twitter.
To learn more about AGERCA and how the private sector can help in Haiti, please contact Tiina Mylly, CBi Secretariat: tiina.mylly@undp.org