The State of Small Business in Barbados

PREFACE

The Small Business Association of Barbados is pleased to once again share key research data with our stakeholders on the micro, small and medium enterprise sector in Barbados. Our last publication in 2016 laid the foundation in providing quantitative and qualitative data on the contribution of small firms to our economy. That 2016 research was used to provide a comparative assessment of key variables for this year’s report. During the past decade much has transpired to affect the business community, most notably were the COVID-19 pandemic, global supply chain disruptions on account of wars in the middle East and

This research project, funded by the InterAmerican Development Bank and administered by lead researcher Professor Dwayne Devonish of the University of the West Indies, gives the startling revelation that much work is needed to transform the sector from mainly surviving, to achieving sustainable growth. Key themes emerged from this research including innovation, productivity, competitiveness, resillience and transformation, as areas requiring policy intervention if we are to build a strong MSME ecosystem. Constraints such as access to finance, labour shortages, and bureaucratic business processes, were again highlighted by business owners as impediments to growth. This 2026 research featured an assessment on variables including inter alia , the sector’s size, age and gender distribution, contribution to exports and employment, and the revenue generation of firms. However, the disruptions in the last decade necessitated a review on the COVID-19 impact on the business community, the preparedness of the sector for digitalisation and the level of resilience of MSMEs to climate change. This research therefore addresses the current state of the sector. and Europe, and several climatic events. It was therefore imperative that we assessed the state of small businesses today, with a view to identifying what effect those exogenous shocks had on the sector and what are the policy and programmatic responses needed to assist MSMEs to pivot to a position of growth. We thank our members and partners for collaborating with us in this publication, and for adding to the body of research data on the state of our local MSMEs. We stand ready to work with all stakeholders to identify the solutions needed to address those development gaps identified in this report. Our goal is to ensure we have a competitive and innovative small business sector contributing sustainably to the development of Barbados while transforming the lives and livelihoods of business owners.

Dr. Lynette Holder Chief Executive Officer Small Business Association of Barbados