Strengthening SME resilience in Iraq: Building risk-informed, inclusive and resilient enterprises for sustainable recovery and local economic development

Background

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are central to employment, private sector development, livelihoods and local economic recovery in Iraq. However, businesses are increasingly exposed to interconnected disaster, climate and environmental risks, including drought, water scarcity, extreme heat, dust storms, flash floods and environmental degradation. These pressures can disrupt business operations, workers, markets and supply chains and interact with damaged infrastructure, displacement and uneven access to finance and business services.

The resilience of SMEs is also closely connected to Iraq's broader recovery and displacement context. IOM's Displacement Tracking Matrix reported more than 186,000 people displaced by climate-related factors as of September 2025. Iraq also continues to face conflict-related displacement and complex challenges associated with return and reintegration. Local enterprises play an important role in providing employment, income and services for displaced people, returnees and host communities, making stronger SME preparedness and resilience important for both sustainable recovery and local economic development.

To address these interconnected challenges, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) are jointly organizing a two-day national capacity-building workshop on Strengthening SME Resilience in Iraq, on 16–17 November 2026.

The workshop will bring together approximately 40–50 participants from national and local government institutions, governorates, business associations and SMEs, financial institutions, academia, the United Nations and development partners.

By bringing together disaster risk reduction, business continuity, displacement-sensitive livelihoods and local economic development approaches, the workshop will support Iraqi partners in identifying practical measures to strengthen enterprise resilience and lay the foundations for the development of an Iraq SME Resilience Roadmap.

Objectives

The workshop aims to:

• Identify disaster, climate and displacement-related risks affecting Iraqi SMEs and local economies.
• Introduce international approaches to SME resilience, business continuity planning and the UNDRR Resilience Maturity Assessment (REMA) tool.
• Apply risk-mapping and resilience-assessment methods to realistic Iraqi enterprise scenarios.
• Strengthen understanding of the links between SME resilience, displacement, livelihoods and sustainable local economic recovery.
• Identify practical measures for strengthening business continuity and supply-chain resilience.
• Agree priority actions, institutional roles, potential partnerships and next steps towards the development of a national SME resilience roadmap for Iraq.

From understanding risk to action

The first day of the workshop will focus on understanding the risk environment facing Iraqi SMEs and building a common approach to enterprise resilience.

Participants will examine the role of SMEs in Iraq's economic recovery and the challenges facing businesses operating in displacement-affected contexts. Sessions will explore disaster and climate risks affecting enterprise assets, workers, supply chains and markets and introduce practical approaches to business continuity and risk-informed planning.

Through an interactive group exercise, participants will map hazards, vulnerabilities, dependencies and existing capacities across selected Iraqi SME sectors and identify priority risks requiring further action.

The second day will move from risk assessment to national action.

Participants will explore how displacement, return and host-community needs can be incorporated into SME resilience programming and will be introduced to UNDRR's Resilience Maturity Assessment (REMA). Through a hands-on exercise, participants will apply selected elements of REMA to illustrative Iraqi SME scenarios and identify practical resilience improvements.

The programme will also address supply-chain resilience, including critical suppliers, transport, utilities and customer dependencies, before bringing participants together to identify priority actions for an Iraq SME resilience roadmap.

Expected results

By the end of the workshop, participants are expected to have:

• A shared understanding of the principal disaster, climate and displacement-related risks affecting SMEs and local economies in Iraq.
• Initial risk maps identifying priority sectors, vulnerabilities, dependencies and capacities.
• Improved understanding of business continuity planning and practical measures SMEs can take to prepare for disruption and recover more effectively.
• Practical experience applying the UNDRR REMA tool to identify enterprise resilience gaps and priorities.
• Priority actions to strengthen supply-chain resilience.
• Initial agreement on priority actions, institutional responsibilities, potential partners and sequencing for an Iraq SME Resilience Roadmap.
• Candidate institutional focal points and partnerships to support follow-up, subject to confirmation.
• Towards a national SME resilience roadmap
• A central outcome of the workshop will be to begin defining a pathway for strengthening SME resilience at the national level in Iraq.

Government, businesses, business associations, UN entities and development partners will discuss how resilience considerations can be more systematically incorporated into enterprise development and support. Participants will identify priority actions across policy, institutional capacity and enterprise-level support, as well as potential leadership roles and partnerships for implementation.

The workshop conclusions and draft action points will provide the basis for further refinement of the proposed national roadmap and continued cooperation between Iraqi institutions, UNDRR, IOM and relevant partners.

Participants

The workshop is expected to convene approximately 40–50 participants, including representatives of:

Government institutions and governorates; business associations and SMEs; financial institutions; academia; United Nations entities; and development and technical partners.

Organizers

The workshop is jointly organized by UNDRR and IOM, bringing together complementary expertise in disaster risk reduction, business resilience, displacement-sensitive livelihoods and sustainable local economic development.