Earth Today | UNDP boss champions climate resilience support for MSMEs
Published:Thursday | June 12, 2025 | 12:06 AM
HEAD OF the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Jamaica, Dr Kishan Khoday, has urged a redoubling of efforts to enable the resilience of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs)to the impacts of extreme weather events and other climate-change impacts.
Speaking at the UNDP’s Hurricane-Ready and Resilient Forum on Loss and Damage for MSMEs in Kingston on Tuesday, he noted that the vulnerability of MSMEs is evident and was clearly on show with the passage of Hurricane Beryl in 2024.
“They constitute 97 per cent of all enterprises in Jamaica, and 98 per cent of all enterprises in The Bahamas. They contribute 28 per cent to Jamaica’s gross domestic product (GDP) and provide 80 per cent of jobs. These enterprises employ 47 per cent of the workforce in The Bahamas and contribute anywhere between 20 per cent to 30 per cent of GDP,” Khoday said.
“Micro enterprises, in particular, are tiny, mighty, but largely informal. Yet, the power of MSMEs is easily felled by a hurricane. MSMEs are disproportionately vulnerable to hurricane impacts because of their informality, especially in the micro enterprise sector; size, limited resources, inadequate access to financing, insurance and disaster preparedness resources,” he added.
Further, Khoday noted that MSMEs operated by women and persons with disabilities contend with added layers of vulnerabilities traced to gender norms, and stereotypes, family responsibilities and inadequate access to capital.
“There are also nuanced requirements related specifically to the needs of women and persons with disabilities that tend to be overlooked,” he said.
It is against this background that he has maintained that it is necessary to “redouble efforts” to secure disaster resilience and accelerated recovery for MSMEs, which he insisted are “too significant to national economic wellbeing to fail or to sustain lengthy closures after a disaster”.
Khoday has therefore urged the development of “comprehensive disaster preparedness plans tailored for MSMEs” and the allocation of resources “to enhance their resilience and disaster recovery capabilities”.
“By enhancing financial support mechanisms for disaster-impacted MSMEs, including possibly via the new Loss & Damage (L&D) Fund, we can expand relief beyond grants to accessible insurance schemes and public private partnerships,” he said.
The L&D Fund is a financial mechanism under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to provide financial assistance to developing countries impacted by the adverse effects of climate-change risks.
Disaster Risk Resilience and Recovery has been a cornerstone of UNDP’s offer and over the years, the entity has allocated US$100 million annually to these efforts, together with its ongoing portfolio of more than US$4 billion of grants for climate action in more than 140 countries.
“Through UNDPs current Country Programme in Jamaica, Bahamas, Bermuda, Cayman and Turks and Caicos Islands, support for climate adaptation, disaster-risk reduction and recovery interventions is a centrepiece. Most recently in Jamaica, following last year’s Hurricane Beryl, UNDP’s support for the livelihoods recovery of 54 enterprises led by women and persons with disabilities included grants for restoration of small businesses as well as gender-sensitive climate-smart DRR (Disaster Risk Reduction) training,” Khoday revealed.
Similar support has also been provided to MSMEs in The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands over time.