Project to benefit 1,200 entrepreneurs in Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, and Belize
The Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), of the IDB Group, is investing US$1.5 million to launch a pioneering initiative that will help coastal communities and micro and small companies in the Caribbean to fight the impacts of climate change.
The initiative, in partnership with CARIBSAVE, a Caribbean non-profit organization, will work directly in eight coastal communities with 1,200 entrepreneurs and 50 micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, and Belize to bolster new business practices to minimize the impact of climate change on productive activities.
“The project will provide locally relevant knowledge that could promote more effective decision-making, planning and management in coastal areas susceptible to climate change hazards. It will also develop business plans for microentrepreneurs that take into account changing climate conditions,” says Gregory Watson, head of the Climate Change team at the MIF and leader of the project. The MIF, also known as FOMIN, its Spanish acronym, is the largest provider of technical assistance for private sector development in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Small developing states in the Caribbean, particularly MSMEs, are highly vulnerable to the detrimental effects of climate change because of their high dependence on natural resource inputs, a lesser capacity to assess risks from climate change, and low ability to relocate their businesses. The anticipated impacts of climate change in coastal communities in the Caribbean include changes in precipitation patterns, with the likelihood of more intense storms and longer dry spells, increased hurricane intensity, rapid coral bleaching, and rise in sea-level leading to coastal erosion and inundation.
The project will help these communities and MSMEs develop adaptation plans, respond to current negative effects of climate change, as well as prepare for expected climatic stimuli. Moreover, the project will pilot new opportunities through alternative business models that may better align with changing conditions than their current livelihoods.
MSMEs contribute an estimated 90 percent of employment and 70 percent of the gross domestic product in coastal communities in the Caribbean. Major MSME sectors include tourism, agriculture, fishing, and crafts.
About the Multilateral Investment Fund
The Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), funded by 39 donors, supports private sector-led development benefitting the poor—their businesses, their farms, and their households. It aims to give low-income populations the tools to boost their incomes: access to markets and the skills to compete in those markets, access to finance, and access to basic services, including green technology.
About CARIBSAVE
The CARIBSAVE Partnership (CARIBSAVE) is a Not-For-Profit regional organization based in the Caribbean with its Headquarters in Barbados. CARIBSAVE was formed in 2008 as a partnership initiative between the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) and the University of Oxford. CARIBSAVE works with stakeholders to address the impacts and challenges surrounding climate change, the environment, economic development, tourism and community livelihoods across the Caribbean Basin, using an integrated and holistic approach.