Microfinance Focus, September 15, 2011: International Development Bank’s Multilateral Investment Fund has invested US$1.5 million to launch an initiative that will help coastal communities and micro and small companies in the Caribbean to fight the impacts of climate change.

The initiative will be launched in partnership with CARIBSAVE, a Caribbean non-profit organization. It will work directly in eight coastal communities with 1,200 entrepreneurs and 50 micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, and Belize.

The project will bolster new business practices to minimize the impact of climate change on productive activities. It will help these communities and MSMEs develop adaptation plans, respond to current negative effects of climate change, as well as prepare for expected climatic stimuli.

Moreover, the project will pilot new opportunities through alternative business models that may better align with changing conditions than their current livelihoods.