Caribbean Export Implementation Report 2017-2020

COVID-19 PANDEMIC: How the Agency was able to respond to the Crisis In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted Caribbean Export's mode of operation due to national shutdowns which restricted travel. The Agency adjusted its operations to protect staff and beneficiaries, by retooling and recalibrating its programme offerings. Consequently, many of the activities that were scheduled in 2020 were either restructured for online delivery, postponed, or cancelled. This pivot made way for new projects and activities that ensured continued relevance, accessibility, and value for beneficiaries. This approach ensured that stakeholders (firms and BSOs primarily) continued to benefit from technical assistance, capacity building and export promotion offerings, and remained engaged with the Agency.

SME AND BSO SURVEYS

In response to the pandemic, the Agency collaborated with the European Union (EU) and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) to conduct two COVID-19 impact assessment surveys on CARIFORUM firms and BSOs in April 2020. The findings of the surveys helped to guide the Agency and its partners in crafting themost appropriate interventions to mitigate the immediate, intermediate, and long-term impact of the pandemic on SMEs and develop relevant capacity building support for BSOs.

SME SURVEY RESULTS

The main findings of the SME survey identified that approximately 77% of those businesses surveyed were negatively impacted by COVID-19 :

484 A total of

47% temporarily ceased

79%

operations altogether

experienced severe cash flow issues

73% reduced sales

$

88% of business

45% halted

49% had to close physical

responses were received from CARIFORUM firms.

owners had no contingency plan

production of goods/offering of services

locations CLOSED

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