Our team

Staff list

For more information, please contact the ILO SME Unit

Tel : +41 (0) 22 799 6738
Fax : +41 (0) 22 798 7978
Email : sme@ilo.org

Enterprise Resilience

Why SME resilience?

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries operate in complex, multi-hazard environments, including natural disasters, conflict, and – most recently – the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which can greatly impact business performance and growth.

At the same time, MSMEs also represent 70 per cent of the total global employment and create the majority of new jobs. This share is even higher in low- and middle-income economies where most of the global population resides. This calls attention to focus on building the resilience and capacity of SMEs to withstand disruptions, in order to promote a robust and sustainable economic recovery.

What's new

  1. Business Day Dialogue on SME resilience in the tourism sector: How to fully realize South Africa’s potential as a tourism destination

    Within the framework of the Resilient and Sustainable Enterprises in Tourism (RESET) project, the Business Day Dialogue explored the pressing challenges to MSME resilience in South Africa’s tourism sector, and the role that business member organizations and public sector can play in promoting resilience.

  2. Drivers of risk and resilience in South Africa’s tourism sector: A snapshot

    27 January 2023

  3. Five things that we have learnt about SMEs resilience since the pandemic

    27 January 2023

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Our work

In line with the ILO Decent Work Agenda and the UN Build Back Better Approach, the ILO SME Unit's different teams work together to strengthen the capacity of the system in which SMEs operate to absorb, recover, and evolve in the face of unexpected hazards, ultimately protecting jobs and workers.

  1. Research

    SME resilience is a key priority for ILO constituents and partners to promote business continuity and decent work during uncertainty. The ILO SME Unit undertakes analyses and assessments at micro, meso and macro levels to contribute to existing knowledge base, and promote evidence-based policies, practices and strategies for strengthened business resilience among SMEs.

  2. Projects

    The ILO SME Unit implements technical projects related to enterprise resilience in close consultation with different departments, field offices, partners and stakeholders across regions. It combines evidence-based policy development with capacity building to strengthen business adaptability, decent work and inclusive growth.

  3. Sustainable and Resilient Enterprises (SURE)

    The Sustainable and Resilient Enterprises (SURE) training programme seeks to strengthen the resilience of SMEs in the face of complex and compound natural, bio-environmental, techno-industrial and socio-political hazards. It combines elements of classical business continuity planning with business adaptation strategies.