Corporate Hands | UNDP supports Gov’t’s Hurricane Beryl recovery programme

HURRICANE RECOVERY grants and inputs are now restoring the livelihoods of 54 women business owners across three parishes, months after their operations were destroyed by Hurricane Beryl.

The 54, which includes women with disabilities, also received training last week in disaster risk resilience, improving mental and physical health, and business and financial literacy to help improve their operations and navigate future shocks.

The intervention supports the Government of Jamaica’s Hurricane Beryl recovery programme with financing from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and implementation by the Bureau of Gender Affairs (BGA) in the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport (MCGES) and the Jamaica Network of Rural Women Producers (JNWRP). Beneficiaries include poultry and vegetable farmers, and shop and bar owners from Clarendon, Manchester and St Elizabeth, the hardest-hit parishes.

At the project closing on January 31 in Mandeville, UNDP Resident Representative Kishan Khoday acknowledged micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) as the backbone of communities and the lifeblood of economies. He explained that MSMEs owned by women, including those with disabilities, were the focus of the intervention due to persisting financing-related gaps in addressing the specific needs of female entrepreneurs, even though women-owned enterprises constitute some 58 per cent of MSMEs.

He said the economic inclusion of women, especially those with disabilities, is essential to fostering long-term sustainability and disaster preparedness. “By enhancing business skills, promoting financial literacy, and improving access to resources, we can strengthen the ability of women-led businesses to withstand future crises,” Khoday declared.

Mitzie Moore Cooke, acting research officer, who delivered remarks on behalf of Sharon Coburn Robinson, principal director of gender affairs in the MCGES, said the BGA had witnessed firsthand the transformative power of the intervention. “Female entrepreneurs have leveraged this initiative to rebuild, reimagine, and expand their businesses, demonstrating resilience, innovation, and sheer determination,” she confirmed.

In a message delivered by JNRWP board member Marva Allen-Simms on behalf of the president of the Jamaica Network of Rural Women Producers, Tamisha Lee, said female entrepreneurs need to keep pushing for lasting, long-term solutions that protect communities for years to come. “Whether it’s parametric insurance, better infrastructure, or stronger partnerships, let’s keep advocating for the tools we need to face whatever comes next,” she told participants.

Beneficiary Maya Biggs, a poultry farmer from Clarendon, received an 800-gallon water tank and construction supplies to rebuild her chicken coop. She told the closing ceremony that she is back on her feet and ready to once again supply markets. With 30 chickens ready to harvest in February, she wants to add 200 more chickens. “We will sell what we have and use the profit to buy more, and to make progress on the coop, too,” she stated.

“I got 1,000 chickens, feed and the materials to expand the chicken coop. It has been really good so far because the chickens have more room to move about. The expansion will help me to add more baby chicks, so I can have more to sell on the market,” said beneficiary Keisha Wint of Warwick district in Manchester.