• 63.2% of MSMEs affected by Hurricane Dorian and COVID-19 • Grand Bahama small biz score higher level of vulnerability than Abaco

Nassau, The Bahamas - A new report offering fresh insight into the impacts of COVID-19 and hurricane Dorian on Micro, Small and Mid-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in Grand Bahama and Abaco is now available to the Government, people and business sector of The Bahamas.

The report – Socio-Economic Impact Assessment of Hurricane Dorian and the COVID-19 Pandemic on MSMEs in The Bahamas – includes in-depth analysis from UNDP's Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI) which uncovers many layers of the vulnerability of MSMEs in the face of crisis. Ranking vulnerability based on 12 indicators, the MVI scores of the MSME sector in the Bahamas are offering a more nuanced and holistic analysis of the impact of the hurricane and pandemic crises.

The Impact Assessment was commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Multi-Country Office in Jamaica and UNDP SURGE Data Hub Country Support Management Team and Crisis Bureau, working in partnership with the Ministry of Finance of The Bahamas and the Small Business Development Centre (SBDC), Access Accelerator, and The Organization for Responsible Governance which conducted the study. 

The report is based on findings from a survey of 486 MSMEs in Abaco and Grand Bahama between November 2020 and February 2021, combined with ‘Livelihoods Meeting’ interviews, and available research on the impacts of Hurricane Dorian and COVID-19.

Key findings indicate that: 63.2% of MSMEs were affected by both Hurricane Dorian and COVID-19, with more businesses in Grand Bahama (75.2%) being affected by both the storm and pandemic, compared to Abaco where 50% of MSMEs were impacted by the hurricane alone; More than 55.2% of MSMEs in Abaco closed permanently compared to 11.6% of businesses in Grand Bahama; Grand Bahama had a higher rate of vulnerable businesses (90%), compared to Abaco (84%), based on MVI scores. 

The report also provides detailed, disaggregated information on the socio-economic impacts on MSME products and services, sales and financial performance; business inputs and hours and COVID 19 adaptations and adjustments; and an assessment of the efficacy of post-Dorian and COVID support interventions on MSMEs.

Recommendations for policy development focus on improving resiliency, social and economic recovery and mitigating the impact of future crises on the sector. The SBDC intends to use findings to strengthen its assistance to MSMEs in the affected islands through its Access Accelerator programme.

“In times of crisis the MSME sector must recover as quickly as possible in order to expedite economic recovery while ensuring the displaced and dispossessed can survive. UNDP remains committed to bolstering the resilience of this important sector as a part of its crisis prevention and recovery services to the countries we serve in the western Caribbean,” UNDP Resident Representative Denise E Antonio outlined.

 She said with MSMEs representing 99% of Bahamas’ business licenses and 18% of Bahamas’ GDP, national capacities and access to quality data must be strengthened to ensure that the best fit for purpose crisis prevention and recovery tools and policies are employed to strengthen the resilience and sustainability of the sector.

Davinia Bain, Executive Director of the Small Business Development Centre (SBDC) said Bahamian MSMEs face an extreme challenge in recovering from the twin blows of the disruptions caused by the COVID19 pandemic and the devastation of Hurricane Dorian. “These businesses are ‘highly vulnerable' to the ravages of the COVID19 pandemic, particularly those with two employees, which manifested the highest vulnerability rate (94%), followed by those with three to five employees (90%) and then those who are self-employed reflected the third highest business vulnerability (89%), which correspond to the vulnerability rate for the whole sample (89%). Interestingly, the analysis showed that single-employee businesses exhibit the lowest vulnerability (84%), as compared to the other business sizes. They have also proven incredibly vulnerable in the face of Hurricane Dorian,” she said.

“ UNDP’s recent assessment of the social and economic impact and efficacy of the post-Dorian and COVID support programmes on MSMEs in Grand Bahama and Abaco, together with the recommendations for policy development to improve resiliency, promote social and economic recovery and mitigate the impact of future disaster on MSMEs, help clarify what we think is the central point: Data is key to transformational government policy, particularly government policy aimed at assisting MSMEs as they seek to pivot and expand in a post-COVID19, post-Hurricane Dorian market. Understandable, usable, accessible and credible data is necessary for driving both government policy and business digitalization, and the kind of data represented by the Socio-Economic Impact Assessment (SEIA) is therefore clearly critical for both government and our clientele," Ms Bain stated. 

The report acknowledges that the unprecedented scope of the crises; the proximity of timing between the two events; and limitations of available data and government data analyses systems present a complex and challenging situation to the Government of The Bahamas as it works to develop policies, plans and resources to aid in the recovery resilience and sustainability of MSMEs

"The primary objective of these recommendations is to support the recovery and development of systems to improve the resilience of MSMEs such that they can play a greater role in the future sustainability and resilience of Grand Bahama, Abaco, and The Bahamas as a whole” the Report states.

In the aftermath of hurricane Dorian, UNDP contributed over USD one million in technical assistance services to the hurricane relief, recovery and rebuilding efforts in The Bahamas. The impact assessment is part of a comprehensive programme of support to these efforts, now bolstered by COVID relief and recovery support. The UNDP Multi-Country office located in Kingston which serves Jamaica, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands has a robust crisis prevention and recovery portfolio which it has leveraged over the years to support countries in times of crisis. Crisis prevention and recovery services to the MSME sector is an important plank of its technical support services.

 

Download Report here.

Website: http://www.jm.undp.org/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/UNDPJamaica/ Twitter: www.twitter.com/UNDPJamaica YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/undpjamaicatv Photo Stories: https://undpjamaica.exposure.co/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/undpjamaica

Contact: Gillian Scott, UNDP Communications Analyst, Kingston office, 1 -3 Lady Musgrave Road, Kingston 5, Jamaica. Tel: 876 978 2390 – 9 Ext 2032; Mobile and WhatsApp: 876 509 0724; Email: gillian.scott@undp.org

 __________________________________

About UNDP: UNDP is the leading United Nations organization fighting to end the injustice of poverty, inequality, and climate change. Working with our broad network of experts and partners in 170 countries, we help nations to build integrated, lasting solutions for people and planet. Learn more at www.undp.org or follow at @UNDP.

Nassau,The Bahamas - The Access Accelerator Small Business Development Centre’s (SBDC) new board will continue to ensure that micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) continue to have what they need to operate amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the board’s Chairman Lorne Basden said yesterday.

The new board was introduced during a press conference at the Ministry of Finance yesterday, where Basden contended that the members will hit the ground running. “The immediate focus of the board is to ensure that in this pandemic and post-pandemic environment, we are meeting the needs of businesses that are even more reliant on the services, projects and portfolios that the Small Business Development Centre has to offer,” said Basden. “The immediate role of the board will be to put all the policies in place to ensure that we have maximum exposure to small and medium-sized businesses. We look forward to building on the previous board and also providing some of our own unique perspectives.” The new board also includes Deputy Chairman Een Colebrooke and board members Nolan Carey, Mark Turnquest, Jayel Gibson, Todd Martin, Creighton Moxey, James Julmis, Dr. Marlo Murphy-Braynen, Dr. Randy Forbes, Antoinette Russel and Charnette Thompson. During the press conference, Minister of Economic Affairs Michael Halkitis called the new board “diverse, young and youthful” and contended that its members give it strength and flexibility. He urged them to “go the extra mile” to reach out to the most underserved in the country’s communities in order to ensure that the ideas and creativity within those communities do not go unrefined. SBDC Executive Director Davinia Bain said during the press conference that the facility supported almost 2,000 entrepreneurs via $70 million in financial assistance from both governmental and international sources. She explained that the SBDC will imminently launch funding programs specifically for technology and the youth. The SBDC moved to new headquarters at the old Phil’s food store on Gladstone Road last year, the first phase of which officially opened late last year. According to Bain, the money for the subsequent phases of the property could be included in the government’s 2022/2023 budget cycle. Written By: Chester Robards | www.thenassauguardian.com

  Bahamian women entrepreneurs should get off the venture capital sidelines and jump into the investment pool in a big way. Davinia Bain, Executive Director of the Access Accelerator Small Business Development Centre, made the proposal while speaking on a panel at the first-ever Women Economic Forum-Caribbean (WEF-Caribe), hosted in Puerto Rico over the past two days.  The Women Economic Forum (WEF) is an international platform that connects more than 250,000 attendees in 200 countries. The WEF-Caribe is expected to attract more than 30,000 virtual attendees from the region and the world.  Addressing the panel discussion on “Where are the women investors that impact entrepreneurship in the region?” Ms. Bain said the research showed that women starting a business stand a great chance of success, save for one major obstacle: access to capital. She noted that in 2018, $130 billion in venture capital funding changed hands: male founders received almost 98 per cent of that money, with female founders receiving only 2.2 per cent of that total funding.  Bain’s fellow panelists included Shila Nieves, Founder, Managing Partner of Zane Venture Fund, and Shirley McPhaul of the Puerto Rico Science, Technology & Research Trust. Nieves’ mission is to champion underrepresented business founders, while McPhaul aims to contribute to the growth of the digital creative industries in Puerto Rico and to help those who want to invest in cryptocurrencies to onboard and participate in decentralized applications, especially to members of vulnerable communities such as women and racial minorities. Ms. Bain encouraged women to broaden their scope when considering what to invest in. She argued that no individual is predisposed by their gender to invest in or involve themselves in particular industries and recalled the earliest days of the Access Accelerator as evidence to support the argument. “From an organizational point of view, it was important to us not to pigeonhole ourselves into any specific thesis. Initially, it was something very new we were doing in the country. We needed to help as many people as quickly as possible in as many industries as possible, simply to bring to the fore the entrepreneurial spirit, which we knew was always here in The Bahamas. We’ve always been very entrepreneurial, but the support hasn’t really been there. The finances and investment, the training and advisory services – that part of it has been missing. So we didn’t start off by having these focal points for investment (like target industries). However, three years into it, now, we are excited to begin to focus on certain points. A lot of it is connected to the Sustainable Development Goals. There’s definitely a focus on technology, and there’s a focus on fishing and farming.” She added, “COVID-19 has brought a lot to light in The Bahamas during the period of time when we were going through shutdowns, there was a lot of concern about our vulnerability as a small island nation to import simple things like food. As an organization, it’s important for us to encourage more entrepreneurs – male and female – to focus on certain types of industries.  That said, when you’re trying to match the gender of an entrepreneur and certain industries, I think you may be riding a line that could be a little dangerous. I don’t think there’s any industry that’s predisposed for a particular gender; however, I want to encourage women to look at some of the industries that we haven’t had a foothold in.” Other panels feature a diverse array of speakers, including the vice president of Costa Rica, the president of Georgia Institute of Technology, the Jamaican Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, the Minister of Women from the Dominican Republic, the Editor in Chief at the Arab Journal of Quality in Education (AJQE) Jordan and others. Some of the other panels also featured Bahamian panelists, including the Bahamas Country Managing Partner of Ernst & Young, Michele Thompson, and Director at Sumner Strategic Partners, Edison Sumner. The Forum – endorsed by The United Nations Women and the U.S. Agency for International Development – is intended to promote economic inclusivity throughout the Caribbean and create synergies between governments, the private sector, and civil society to build a more equitable, diverse, and inclusive region.