ADPC to strengthen business resilience in the Philippines
ADPC to strengthen business resilience in the Philippines
30 Apr 2015
Manila, Philippines
Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) organized the second consultative meeting under the regional project to Strengthen Resilience of SMEs in Asia in Manila, Philippines on 21 April 2015.
ADPC’s Executive Director Mr. Shane Wright and Undersecretary Zenaida C. Maglaya from the Department of Trade and Industry of the Philippines signed a memorandum of understanding on the upcoming project activities in the Philippines.
The importance of building the private sector’s resilience to natural hazards has become more and more evident in the Philippines in the aftermath of the recent devastating typhoons. Most recently, following Typhoon Yolanda in late 2013, only 40 percent of the affected small and medium enterprises (SMEs) had been able to resume operations three months after the disaster. Many of the businesses are still recovering.
A roadmap for SME resilience
To complement the ongoing initiatives in the country including greening initiatives for SMEs and the APEC capacity-building project on business continuity planning, ADPC will work with local partners to deliver training on business continuity planning and disaster risk management. The training workshops will be designed based on an in-depth assessment of the local SMEs’ specific needs.
ADPC will also support the government in developing a roadmap of priority actions for strengthening SME resilience in the country. This roadmap will become a part of the Department of Trade and Industry’s soon-to-be-launched SME resilience program and it will be aligned with existing policy frameworks.
In addition to ADPC and the Department of Trade and Industry of the Philippines, the consultation was participated by representatives of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, Development Bank of the Philippines, University of the Philippines Institute for Small-Scale Industries, Land Bank of the Philippines, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Philippine Trade Training Center, Small Business Corporation, The National Economic and Development Authority, and The Philippine Disaster Recovery Foundation.
The project belongs under ADPC’s iPrepare Business facility, and is supported by Asian Development Bank’s Integrated Disaster Risk Management Fund financed by the Government of Canada, and the German Ministry for Economic Development and Cooperation (BMZ) through the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH within the framework of the Global Initiative on Disaster Risk Management.
Undersecretary Zenaida C. Maglaya of the Department of Trade and Industry and ADPC’s Executive Director Mr. Shane Wright signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in building SME’s resilience to disaster in the Philippines.
Meeting participants with Mr. Richard S. Bolt, Country Director of Asian Development Bank’s Philippine Country Office, Undersecretary Zenaida C. Maglaya of the Department of Trade and Industry, and ADPC’s Executive Director Mr. Shane Wright in the middle.