Opportunities and barriers to the access and use of climate information for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Uganda and Kenya
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
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Abstract: This report highlights the outcomes of a study to assess the opportunities and barriers to the access and use of climate information for urban small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Uganda and Kenya. While many multinational companies,along with much of the public and financial sectors,increasingly understand the physical risks of climate change,there is much less focus on these risks within SMEs; particularly those in the most vulnerable contexts. Yet SMEs not only play an important role as drivers of job creation and supply chains,they are also instrumental in restoring economic activity at community level following disasters. This makes understanding SMEs’ needs regarding their access to,and use of,climate risk information (CRI) in their planning and operations a critical subject that has largely been ignored to date. It is against this background that the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre,in collaboration with the Uganda Red Cross Society,Kenya Red Cross Society and the Global Disaster Preparedness Center commissioned this study,which seeks to assess the opportunities and barriers that SMEs in Kenya and Uganda face in integrating climate risks into their planning and operations.