Asian Disaster Preparedness Center has trained the first batch of Thai government officials who will become business continuity planning trainers to build small and medium enterprises capacity to cope with natural disasters.

Attended by the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion, and SME Bank along with representatives from the private sector, the training of trainers introduced participants to the practical steps of developing business continuity plans for SMEs.

“SMEs are often the ones hit worst by natural disasters. Through this program we want to help entrepreneurs to secure their livelihoods and their business operations in times and in the aftermath of disasters,” says Mr. Aslam Perwaiz, Head of ADPC’s Disaster Risk Management Systems Department.


The future trainers learned about the practical steps of developing business continuity plans for SMEs.

Encouraged by the program, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation of Thailand is now looking into ways in which it could better support SMEs to prepare for disasters.

“We will form a working group within the department to enhance business continuity planning and to support local SMEs,” said Human Resources Officer Mrs. Amornthip Paksuchon after the training.

Training SMEs across Thailand

The training on 25–27 August 2015 in Khaoyai in Thailand was part of ADPC’s regional project on strengthening SMEs’ disaster resilience with support from the German Government through GIZ and the Canadian Government through the Asian Development Bank.

The graduates of the training together with ADPC’s iPrepare Business team will be equipping SMEs with business continuity planning skills across Thailand. A number of SMEs from sectors including agriculture, automotive, tourism, services, and technology have already enrolled to be part of the program, which will be launched in October.

The car manufacturing company Isuzu is already conducting business continuity planning training for its employees in Thailand.

“We will be organizing the first business continuity planning training for our tier-one suppliers after which we will request them to assist the tier-two suppliers in implementing business continuity plans,“ shared Mr. Chanyut Chamratporn, Manager of the Procurement Parts Management Department at Isuzu Thailand, about his company’s plans.


The workshop was attended by the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation of Thailand, the Office of Small and Medium
Enterprises Promotion, SME Bank and representatives from the private sector.