Recovery, Renewal, Resilience

Many smaller retailers have less digital capabilities, and it is these skills which can help smaller business survive the pandemic. The loss of smaller retailers will inhibit the economic recovery at the local and national level. Consider how to encourage partnerships between larger and smaller companies to help accelerate digital transformation for small business owners:

• Offer digital solutions to support infrastructure development of small business to establish brands via mobile apps and digital menu applications for consumers. Additionally, develop simple online supply platforms for small and medium-sized business e.g. Menu in Brazil and MiMercado in Mexico
• Encourage financial inclusion through affordable financial products and services. Consideration may be given to the development of local fintech services and partnerships that extend credit to small retailers to help save businesses and make them more competitive
• Encourage collaborative platforms to share knowledge between well-established, experienced companies and vulnerable business e.g. Movimento Nós in Brazil an initiative created by eight of the main food and beverage companies in the country (Coca-Cola, Heineken, Nestlé etc.) to help 300,000 small businesses employing one million people, to get through COVID-19 and guarantee their reopening when possible. This will support the recovery of smaller supply chains and encourage customers and suppliers, which in turn will continue to have a positive impact on global supply chain recovery

In Colombia, local government has established an economic revival committee comprised of the Chamber of Commerce, labour unions and local stakeholders create as many jobs as possible that provide a basic wage. The idea is that in the current climate, more jobs that provide a basic wage, are more important than fewer jobs that provide high wages. Job creation will be encouraged through public and private entities in areas such as security and sanitation. More jobs providing a basic wage will maintain people's dignity and reduce poverty.

This lesson was contributed by a Chief Resilience Officer in Colombia during project data collection.