First ever workshop to support resilience-building for Haitian entrepreneurs in Dominica

The Dominica Association of Industry and Commerce (DAIC) in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) conducted on the 4th of May its first business resilience workshop targeting migrant business owners. 

IOM recently partnered with DAIC and CARICHAM, to support the translation of the Business Continuity Planning Guide and Template, now available on the Caribbean Chamber’s website in the five primary languages of business in the Caribbean:  English, Spanish, French, Haitian Creole and Dutch.  Through capacity-building activities like this workshops, migrants in the region are encouraged to be prepared to respond to risks and emergency situations that might risk their livelihoods.

Fifteen Haitian entrepreneurs attended the Business Continuity Planning Workshop at the Convent High School Auditorium on 4 May 2022, where Lizra Fabien, Executive Director of DAIC, led them through the steps of creating a business continuity plan (BCP), using the Caribbean Chamber of Commerce’s (CARICHAM) Business Resilience Toolkit.   Ms. Fabien advised that all businesses should plan to mitigate the risks that they predict might severely affect their individual businesses. She also cautioned that even a weak plan is better than no plan at all. 

“The training was very useful, I loved it! When I made my first plan it cost me $2200. If I can learn to do it myself, it is a plus.”, expressed Gabriel Mesidor, owner of Freeze Tech & Electric. “We are living in Dominica and doing what we are supposed to do: making a family, opening a business to feed ourselves and creating a future for our children, and sometimes creating jobs! So, I think migrants should be a key part of any country, Dominica inclusive.” 

Furthermore, the support of IOM ensured that DAIC could deliver the workshop, which was already presented to local business members of the DAIC, to a broader cadre of business owners who are often excluded.  The activity thereby contributes to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 10 – reducing inequalities in access to information and business resilience support. 

Mrs. Amonia Paul-Rolle, Social Development Planner in the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, Climate Resilience, Sustainable Development and Renewable Energy also attended the workshop, and engaged the migrant business owners on their significant role in Dominica’s thrust to achieve resilience, the SDGs and the UN’s Agenda 2030.  

Support to DAIC was possible for IOM through the Western Hemisphere Program, funded by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. 

For additional information on this initiative, contact Maxine Alleyne of IOM Dominica at malleyne@iom.int or (767) 275-3225.