Over twenty (20) persons have completed the inaugural Business Continuity Planning for MSMEs Workshop held by the Centre for Enterprise Development Inc. (CED).

The three-day workshop took place at the CED’s Conference Room from 9-11 September and was attended by entrepreneurs who operate Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), including eight women from the southern Grenadines-island of Canouan. The goal of the workshop was to empower the participants to equip their businesses with a robust Business Continuity Plan (BCP) to minimize disruptions and safeguard operations, strengthen their businesses’ ability to quickly recover and adapt to unforeseen challenges, and help them gain practical knowledge on risk management and business resilience that can be applied directly to their operations.

The CED workshop was supported by the United Nations Build Back Equal Project, which sponsored fourteen (14) women to attend. It covered a range of topics, including, Hazards in the Caribbean, Risk Identification and Business Impact Analysis, Mapping Critical Business Functions, and the Process of collecting and analysing data for developing a Business Continuity Plan. The workshop also examined activities to be conducted for business to continue after the impact of an event, and concluded with participants being sensitized on how to complete and test a plan, and how to think through potential impacts of hazards on MSMEs using various scenarios.

Speaking at the brief closing where participants were presented with certificates of completion, CED’s Training and Education Coordinator, Keisha Phillips, reflected on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hurricane Beryl, the La Soufriere volcanic eruptions of 2021 and other disruptions. She said that the need for MSMEs to have Business Continuity Plans was one of the lessons the CED recognized was crucial, along with the need for business owners and operators to be sensitized about the importance of having BCPs and be trained to develop their plans. She urged the participants to continue to work on their draft plans, and assured them that CED would continue to assist them to ensure they are completed and well developed.

The successful close of the workshop was met with gratitude from all participants, who represented several sectors, including tourism, education, healthcare services, and the cultural and creative industry, and who shared how the training would impact their businesses.

For some, the training was a revelation. Christiana Thompson-Davis, owner of the Garden of Eden Nursing Home, said the training has opened her eyes to a lot of things.

“I never thought about having an emergency plan. Now I know I have to put something in place to manage. It’s a lot, it was very informative to me and I would like to see this training more, especially in the area of nursing homes.”

Similarly, Canouan resident, Dalia Bowens of Nature’s Touch, explained, “Before Tuesday, I never thought of half of these things that we covered in this three-day session. I never thought of having a continuity plan. It also brought home to me the importance of data and making sure that you have your records up to date and have them stored where you can easily access them.”

Others praised the presentation like Godric Nichols of Nurtured by Nature Cooperative Society said, “It was very informative, educational and the presenter was very, very dynamic.”

He also expressed that he would like to see more men taking part in trainings.

For business owners affected by recent disasters, the training provided critical direction. Marslyn Lewis of Canouan, owner of Marslyn’s All Natural Seamoss Solutions, spoke about how hurricane Beryl impacted her business. She expressed that she was aware that changes needed to be made and systems needed to be put in place to mitigate some of the impact of the natural disaster. On a hopeful note, she said, “The training this week has given me a clear roadmap as to how I can go about that in a simplified way.” She also said that she was excited to go back and build up her business continuity plan.

Looking forward, another Canouan resident, Valcina Gregg of Aunty Val’s stated, “I would definitely be using the information given to us to implement in to my business so that I can make it more productive and successful for the future.”

CED’S Business Development Officer, Nisha Glasgow, facilitated the Business Continuity Planning for MSMEs Workshop.