Disaster resilient SME key to sustainable value chain

Small and medium enterprises (SME) form the lifeblood of the economy through the stimulation of economic activity. SM, as a staunch supporter of micro small and medium enterprises growth, recognizes that disaster resilient MSME are the key to a sustainable value chain and in attaining business continuity.

“Empowering supply chains is particularly close to our hearts because SM’s roots were borne from our father’s entrepreneurial spirit,” says Hans Sy, SM Prime Holdings Inc. chairman of the executive committee and SM Investments Corp. adviser at the United Nations Global Compact-Global Reporting Initiative regional sustainability summit held on 20 August 2019 at the Conrad Manila.

“It is because of this that we understand the journey and challenges faced by small and medium enterprises. We want to help them not only by providing a strong market but by building their resilience to overcome their risks and maximize their opportunities,” Sy added.

Sy is a strong advocate of disaster resilience and is the first Filipino representative to the Private Sector Advisory Group of the United Nations office for Disaster Risk Reduction.

SM Prime is taking a step further by helping SME bounce back immediately after a disaster. It built an SM Reliance Center in SM Clark, Pampanga to serve as the data storage and capacity building facilities for SME partners. The Center also serves as the information and communications hub for SM.

SM Prime has also provided free storage data to serve as the repository for documents essential to early recovery and business continuity. To date, there are over 1,500 SME that have availed of this service.

SM Prime has partnered with the National Resilience Council, APEC Emergency Preparedness Capacity Building Center, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and Global Education and Training Institute, Department of Trade and Industry, among other disaster risk reduction organizations to provide capacity building and technical assistance on the Center’s operations.

We want to help them not only by providing a strong market but by building their resilience to overcome their risks and maximize their opportunities.

“Supporting our SME partners focus their efforts from managing disasters to managing risks is a critical step toward an enduring partnership in resilience,” Sy said.

SM works with nearly 25,000 small and medium enterprises, both directly and indirectly, representing 27 percent of total SME in the Philippines today. These are SM’s mall tenants, traders and suppliers mainly in retail.