How can SME Resilience and Adaptivity be Strengthened through Business Continuity Management in light of Covid-19?

How can Employer Business Membership Organizations (EBMOs) in ACP countries adjust their service offer in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic? The online live event assesses how Business Continuity Training can help SMEs preparing for and recovering from crisis situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes activities for preserving the business operations but at the time also focusses on activities helping SMEs to adapt their business model and to use the opportunities deriving from the crisis to Build Back Better.

Upcoming events

By supporting business climate and investment environment reforms, the ICR Facility aims to help generate more decent jobs and contribute to improving livelihoods in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries.

Training on Business Environment Reforms to Support Women’s Economic Empowerment

Women's Economic Empowerment

Training on Busines Environment Reforms to Support Women’s Economic Empowerment What? The course develops awareness and provides tools to advance Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) through Business Environment Reform (BER) in African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. Participants learn to apply a gender-sensitive and gender-transformative lens when they work on their own reforms, taking into account […]

Training for Development Finance Institutions: how to Develop a Gender Approach

Access to Finance

Coming soon! In these self-paced training modules you will learn how to develop a gender finance approach in the development finance institution. It is an interactive way to learn more about institutional gender mainstreaming, actions and measures to be taken in the organization to ensure gender inclusion. The training contains videos, texts, interactive exercises and quizzes, […]

Training on Business Environment Reforms Tools

Business Regulation and Policy

In these self-paced modules in “Business Environment Reform Tools”, representatives from public and private stakeholders in African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries will learn how to use practical and straight-forward tools to improve the business environment in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. You will earn a PDF certificate once you pass all the tasks of the four modules. […]

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Honour Loans: A Comprehensive Mechanism to Foster Development by Supporting MSMEs

The honour loans mechanism is a multidimensional one combining financing free of interest or requirement for securities or guarantees, with support to entrepreneurs. It has several benefits for entrepreneurs: Firstly, it finances their development, serving as seed funds and strengthening their project’s equity. It can therefore create financial leverage with microcredit or banking loans. Secondly, it can help […]

Reforming Business Environments Amid Conflict and Fragility

Often, it is the countries that need private investment and economic growth the most that are also the most difficult to invest and do business in. Not only do businesses in these countries struggle to access markets and obtain the inputs they need to compete, but their governments are also challenged in their efforts to […]

Crowdfunding: an Opportunity to Increase Access to Finance for MSMEs in ACP Countries

Executive Summary Access to finance is amongst the main challenges faced by micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in creating and growing their business in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. Meanwhile, crowdfunding is disrupting the financial services industry by democratising access to capital for individuals and businesses and revolutionising the way they interact with […]

Supporting Businesses to Deliver Climate Change Adaptation in ACP Countries: Priority Actions and the Role of International Capital

Supporting Businesses To Deliver Climate Change Adaptation In Acp Countries: Priority Actions And The Role Of International Capital Executive Summary African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries are some of most vulnerable to climate change. Given pressures on public resources, the need is urgent to stimulate business activity, and thus private capital, into areas highly disrupted by climate change —food […]

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Building a better business ecosystem for entrepreneurs in Côte d’Ivoire

Côte d’Ivoire has been an African success story for much of the last decade. The World Bank estimates that its GDP growth rate was on average 8.2% in the seven years between 2012 and 2019, one of the most dynamic in the world. Much of its growth comes from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which account for […]

Closing the gender gap in Senegal’s economy

Women make up most of the agricultural workforce in Senegal and many have ambitions to start or grow their own farming businesses. But lack of finance and traditional cultural norms are holding them back. A new initiative between the Union Nationale des Commerçants et Industriels du Sénégal (UNACOIS), finance partners and with the support of the ICR Facility has proved that targeted and timely support can transform their fortunes – and those of their country.

Promoting Innovative SME Finance in Caribbean and Pacific Islands

Many DFIs in the Pacific and the Caribbean strategically support local businesses in their launch, develop and growth phases, both with financial and non-financial means, but maintaining a balance between financial sustainability and achieving goals is not always easy. Empowering people to engage and raise their voice is the first step to change.

Reforming Business Environments amid Fragility and Conflict

Often, the countries that need private investment and economic growth the most are also the most difficult to invest and do business in. Not only do businesses in these countries struggle to access markets and obtain inputs, but their governments are also challenged to manage the business environment and economy. As a result, unemployment and […]

You may also be interested in these event recordings

Business Environment Reform for Supporting Young Entrepreneurs: Opportunities for the ACP Region

Many countries in the ACP (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific) region have made supporting young entrepreneurs a top priority for economic development and youth employment. Despite this, young entrepreneurs face challenging business conditions and complicated policy and regulatory contexts in launching and running their businesses. This webinar hosted by the ICR Facility provided an opportunity for […]

Using Domestic Financial and Fiscal Policy to Mobilise Private Adaptation Finance in ACP Countries

The countries of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) region are some of the most vulnerable to climate change. Scaling up finance for climate adaptation is critical, particularly across the diversity of private actors from households, through micro-small medium enterprises (MSMEs) to corporations, financial institutions and investors; all of which are influenced by public policy […]

Promoting Equal Opportunities for Women in the Labour Market through Business Environment Reforms

Date 30.09.2021 Women are more likely to be unemployed, be economically inactive, work in the informal sector, and to have temporary or more precarious employment than men. A mix of social norms, time scarcity – in particular due to unpaid care activities – or the lack of quality and affordable care, discrimination, lack of mobility, […]

Improving the investment climate through gender sensitive reforms in times of COVID 19

The COVID-19 crisis has taken a greater toll on women in the productive and labour force. Industries with strong women participation have been impacted more than others, creating significant disruptions, and loss of income and jobs. In other cases, when women are able to work remotely, their productivity is negatively affected and domestic violence is […]