A Resilience Alliance
An independent, non-profit alliance connecting SMEs, cities, insurers, finance and solution providers—so every small business can prepare, respond and recover faster
Why this Alliance
SMEs are the backbone of urban economies, yet most remain underprepared for disruptions. The UNDRR "Strengthening SME Resilience" work highlighted a major gap: only a small fraction of SMEs have a Business Continuity Plan, while shocks (blackouts, extreme weather, supply disruptions) create systemic impacts
Despite their importance, SMEs face structural barriers to resilience
- Limited time, knowledge, and resources to plan for crises.
- Risk management tools need to be adapted to SMEs
- Low access to finance and insurance for adaptation or recovery.
- Fragmented governance— climate change, risk management and economic development often operate in silos.
- Lack of incentives to adopt preventive measures or continuity planning.
These challenges demand collective action across public and private sectors to make resilience accessible, practical, and profitable for SMEs.
What we do
Resilience Academy
- Practical, modular training for SMEs and business networks including crisis exercises and simulations to turn plans into muscle memory.
Digital Tools
- Low-friction, SME-friendly tools for baseline assessment and progress tracking.
- Partnerships to unlock risk-transfer, resilience-linked loans and incentives.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) form the backbone of urban economies—they provide essential goods, services, and jobs, and are deeply integrated into municipal operations and supply chains. When disasters strike, SMEs are often hit hardest and recover slowest, amplifying economic and social disruption
Barcelona Chapter
Barcelona Tech4Resilience
As disasters increase in frequency, complexity, and impact due to climate change and other systemic risks, the promise of emerging and disruptive technologies, such as artificial intelligence, satellite imaging, predictive analytics, and next-generation communication systems, offer unprecedented potential to reduce disaster risk. Yet despite the growing availability of such technologies, SMES struggle to adopt and absorb them effectively.
