introduction
As stated by the Andean Development Corporation (CAF): “The measures to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have placed Latin American SMEs in a delicate situation. These companies account for more than 99% of the region’s business fabric and generate about 30% of its GDP, therefore it is essential to protect them.”
For its part, the OECD notes that the COVID-19 pandemic has not only reduced the production capacity of enterprises, but also that the measures to contain the disease through blockades and quarantines have disrupted supply chains, which in some cases means shortages of spare parts and intermediate goods.
Consumers are experiencing a loss of income and fear of contagion, which in turn reduces their willingness to spend and consume. Some surveys on SMEs show that more than half of them have already faced severe losses in income.
The negative effects of COVID-19 will continue to impact businesses for the next 12 to 16 months, and many small and medium-sized entrepreneurs have closed temporarily and fear they will not be able to reopen. Most SMEs are suffering significant impacts from the pandemic.
Many small and medium-sized entrepreneurs are afraid about the viability of their business for the next year. The most affected sectors by the crisis are: construction, automotive, wholesale and retail trade, air transport, accommodation and food services, real estate, professional services and other personal services.
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken us all by surprise. Governments, entrepreneurs, and society as a whole must face the challenges that this entails. We are already beginning to perceive the devastating power of the pandemic and the profound damage and various impacts it is causing on the economy and society.
Recently, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) submitted its report on the “Economic and Social Effects of COVID-19 for Latin America and the Caribbean”, which warns us about the special and unprecedented situation facing the region from a weaker position than that of the rest of the world, in which its economies could suffer a contraction between 3% and 4% or even more serious, depending on the decisions taken by the governments at the national and regional levels.
Governments in the region have immediately responded and measures to contain contagion have progressively been adopted by most countries. In early March, the Permanent Secretariat drafted the document “COVID-19: Summary of the main measures, actions and policies implemented by SELA Member States”, which is updated every fortnight and is published on its Website.
Over the last few weeks, we have highlighted the complexity of sanitary measures, and of the economic, fiscal, commercial, educational and social measures, as well as the extension and variability of quarantine, confinement and social distancing policies, which affect society and particularly the productive sector, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises.
The Permanent Secretariat of SELA has been working on the issue of creating Public-Private Partnerships for Disaster Risk Reduction since 2010; and one of its priorities is precisely “Business Continuity”, so as to help SMEs and SMES to prepare themselves to face disaster situations, considering that they make up to 90% of the business fabric in Latin America and the Caribbean.
In this context, the Permanent Secretariat of SELA has deemed it appropriate to start a Webinar cycle with the purpose of providing practical tools so that entrepreneurs, SMEs and MSMEs can protect themselves against these changing scenarios, which demand capacity for rapid action, reaction and adaptation.
Concluding note
General objectives
- Exchange experiences and prospects on the organizational resilience of SMEs within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic
- Share some practical recommendations to provide businesses with continuity protocols and experiences during the pandemic, in order to help protect entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises in Latin America and the Caribbean
Key issues
Speakers will debate on their practical experiences on how private organizations have responded to the various problems that the pandemic has generated in the business sector. Both from the perspective of different industries and several countries, they will make recommendations on organizational resilience and how such recommendations should be implemented in order to properly respond to the COVID-19 crisis.
Speakers will focus on the top-priority problems facing businesses and entrepreneurs:
- - Background and consequences that we have lived through during the pandemic
- - How resilience helps to manage such changes
- - Resilience of people and management of productivity
- - Cost reduction and financing
- - Access to information
- - Sales and innovation
- - What awaits us in the new normality
Agenda
Apertura
| 11:00 – 11:10 | Speech by Ambassador Javier Paulinich, Permanent Secretary of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA) – (10 minutes) |
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Moderator: Ambassador Oscar Hernández, Director of Relations for Integration and Cooperation |
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| 11: 10 – 12:10 |
Presentations and dialogue with speakers:
¿A dónde nos dirigimos? La resiliencia organizacional para las Pymes en tiempo de pandemia |
| 12:10 – 12:40 |
Questions and answers session / Comments – 30 minutes |
Speakers
Yves Dávila
(MBCI, CBCP, ISO 22301 LI, LA, BCMM Advisor). He is the Executive Director of Protiviti Peru and responsible for the BCM Practice in South America. With more than 15 years of professional experience, he has led various Business Continuity projects for clients in the United States, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Chile, Venezuela, Ecuador, Argentina and Peru, and in various industrial sectors such as banking, gas and oil, mining, telecommunications and electricity, among others. His experience includes projects related to the establishment of BCMS, Business Impact Analysis, Risk Assessment, Business Continuity Plans, Disaster Recovery Plans, Emergency Response Plans, Incident Management and Crisis Communication Plans, Maturity Level Assessment, as well as Business Continuity Exercises, and Personnel Training and Awareness Programmes.
German Vargas Pedroza
International consultant in best technological and business practices, with experience in Information Technology management, internal control and auditing in large companies. Currently, he works as Business Continuity Manager at CLARO Colombia. Writer and columnist for newspapers, physical and online journals on Technology and Management, speaker at international congresses and founding vice president of Continuam Colombia.
Maria Elisa Padilla (ARGENTINA) (CBCI).
(CBCI, Certification of the Business Continuity Institute). Head of Business Continuity and Incident Management at Banco Itau Argentina. She has more than 15 years of experience in Business Continuity within the financial industry, at the Boston and Itau Banks. Her experience includes projects related to the implementation of the Business Continuity Programme, Business Impact Analysis, Continuity Plans, Disaster Recovery Plans, Incident Management Plans and Crisis Communication, as well as Business Continuity Exercises, and Personnel Training and Awareness Programmes and Crisis Management during Pandemics.
Information and documents
Subportal on disaster risk reduction in Latin America and the Caribbean:
http://gestiondelriesgo.sela.org/
SELA’S SUPPORT DOCUMENTS ON BUSINESS AND OPERATIONS CONTINUITY AND PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS
Disaster risk reduction in Latin America and the Caribbean: A guide to strengthen public-private partnerships. V Regional Meeting on Public-Private Sectors Partnerships for Disaster Risk Reduction in Latin America and the Caribbean. Santiago, Chile. 28 and 29 November. Caracas: SELA. (SP/VRRASPPRRD-ALC/DT No. 2-16). Available at:
http://www.sela.org/media/3212007/la-rrd-en-alc_una-guia-para-el-fortalecimiento-de-la-apppdf.pdf
“Disaster risk reduction in Latin America and the Caribbean: A guide for strengthening public-private partnerships”. V Regional Meeting on Public-Private Sectors Partnerships for Disaster Risk Reduction in Latin America and the Caribbean. Santiago, Chile. 28 and 29 November. Caracas: SELA. (SP/VRRASPPRRD-ALC/DT N° 2-16). Available at:
Continuity of Operations (COOP) and Continuity of Government (COG): Implementation Guide for governments and local businesses. Base document. III Regional Seminar “Public-private partnerships for disaster risk management. Continuity of government and continuity of business and operations in disaster situations in Latin America and the Caribbean: Advances and experiences from the perspective of governments and local businesses”. Samborondón, Ecuador. 14 and 15 October 2014. Caracas: SELA. (SP/III-SRASPPGRD/DT No. 2-14). Available at:
http://www.sela.org/media/264834/t023600006059-0-continuidad_de_operaciones_y_de_gobierno.pdf
Continuity of Operations (COOP) and Continuity of Government (COG): Implementation guide for local governments and enterprises. Base Document. III Regional Seminar “Public-private partnerships for disaster risk management. Continuity of government and continuity of business and operations in disaster situations in Latin America and the Caribbean: Advances and experiences from the perspective of governments and local businesses”. Samborondón, Ecuador. 14 and 15 October 2014. Caracas: SELA. (SP/III-SRASPPGRD/DT N° 2-14). Available at:
http://www.sela.org/media/2463691/continuidad-de-operaciones-y-de-gobierno-ing.pdf
Business and operations continuity vis-à-vis disaster situations in Latin America and the Caribbean. Assessment and recommendations. Base document. II Regional Seminar “Public-private partnerships for disaster risk management. Continuity of government and continuity of business and operations in disaster situations in Latin America and the Caribbean”. Cartagena, Colombia. 25 and 26 July 2013. Caracas: SELA. SP/II-SR-ASPPGRD/DT Nº 2-13. Available at:
Continuity of Operations (COOP) and Continuity of Business (COG): Proposal for their implemention in Latin America and the Caribbean. Base Document. II Regional Seminar “Public-private partnerships for disaster risk management. Continuity of government and continuity of business and operations in disaster situations”. Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. 01 and 02 August 2013. Caracas: SELA. SP/II-SR-ASPPGRD/DT N° 3-13. Available at:
Continuity of business and operations during disasters in Latin America and the Caribbean: Balance and recommendations. II Regional Seminar on public-private partnerships for disaster risk management. Continuity of government and continuity of business and operations in disaster situations”. Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. 01 and 02 August 2013. Caracas: SELA. SP/II-SR-ASPPGRD/DT Nº 2-13. Available at:
Continuity of Operations (COOP) and Continuity of Government (COG): Proposal for their implementation in Latin America and the Caribbean. II Regional Seminar on public-private partnerships for disaster risk management. Continuity of government and continuity of business and operations in disaster situations”. Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. 01 and 02 August 2013. Caracas: SELA. SP/II-SR-ASPPGRD/DT N° 3-13. Available at:
Private-public partnerships between the public and private sectors for disaster risk reduction (2012). Caracas: SELA. SP/Di N° 15-12. Available at:
Partnerships between public and private sectors for disaster risk reduction (2012). Caracas: SELA. SP/Di N° 15-12. Available at:
Guidelines for cooperation between governments and the private sector on disaster risk reduction. Approaches, progresses and challenges. Regional Seminar “Cooperation between governments and the private sector for disaster risk reduction in Latin America and the Caribbean: Approaches, progresses and challenges". Panama City, Panama. 17 and 18 November 2011. Caracas: SELA. SP/SR-CGSPRRD/DT N° 2-11. Available at:
Guidelines for cooperation between governments and the private sector for disaster risk reduction: Approaches, achievements and challenges. Regional Seminar on “Cooperation between governments and the private sector for disaster risk reduction in Latin America and the Caribbean: Focus, progress and challenges”. Panama City, Panama 17 and 18 November 2011. Caracas: SELA. SP/SR-CGSPRRD/DT N° 2-11. Available at: