CED Trains MSME Owners to Develop Business Continuity Plans

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent and the Grenadines – 11 September 2025 – More than twenty (20) entrepreneurs have successfully completed the inaugural Business Continuity Planning for MSMEs Workshop, hosted by the Centre for Enterprise Development Inc. (CED).

The three-day training, held from 9–11 September at the CED’s Conference Room, was designed to strengthen the resilience of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). Among the participants were eight women from the southern Grenadine island of Canouan.

The workshop equipped attendees with tools to develop Business Continuity Plans (BCPs) that will help minimize disruptions, safeguard operations, and ensure quicker recovery from unforeseen challenges. Participants gained practical knowledge on risk management, hazard assessment, and business resilience strategies that can be directly applied to their operations.

The initiative was supported by the United Nations Build Back Equal Project, which sponsored fourteen (14) women. Topics covered included:

Hazards in the Caribbean

Risk Identification and Business Impact Analysis

Mapping Critical Business Functions

Data collection and analysis for BCPs

Developing, completing, and testing a plan


Speaking at the closing ceremony, CED’s Training and Education Coordinator, Keisha Phillips, reflected on recent challenges faced by local businesses, including the COVID-19 pandemic, Hurricane Beryl, and the 2021 La Soufrière volcanic eruptions. She stressed the importance of BCPs for MSMEs, urging participants to complete their draft plans while assuring them of CED’s continued support.

Participants, who represented sectors such as tourism, healthcare, education, and the creative industries, expressed gratitude for the training.

For Christiana Thompson-Davis, owner of Garden of Eden Nursing Home, the training was an eye-opener:

> “I never thought about having an emergency plan. Now I know I have to put something in place to manage. It was very informative to me, and I would like to see this training more, especially in the area of nursing homes.”



Dalia Bowens of Nature’s Touch in Canouan also shared how the program shifted her perspective:

> “Before Tuesday, I never thought of half of these things. It also brought home the importance of data and making sure that you have your records up to date and stored where they can be easily accessed.”



Other participants praised the session’s delivery. Godric Nichols, of Nurtured by Nature Cooperative Society, noted:

> “It was very informative, educational, and the presenter was very dynamic. I would like to see more men taking part in these trainings.”



For entrepreneurs like Marslyn Lewis of Marslyn’s All Natural Seamoss Solutions in Canouan, who experienced losses during Hurricane Beryl, the workshop provided a clear path forward:

> “The training this week has given me a clear roadmap as to how I can go about making changes in a simplified way. I am excited to go back and build up my continuity plan.”



Looking ahead, Valcina Gregg of Aunty Val’s said she plans to implement the lessons immediately to boost her business’s productivity and long-term success.

The workshop was facilitated by CED’s Business Development Officer, Nisha Glasgow.