Only a third of global SMEs are disaster-ready; Indian firms among most exposed

Mint, more than half of SMEs lack access to affordable finance, real-time climate information and insurance products, forcing many to treat resilience spending as discretionary.The findings come as businesses worldwide face rising risks from natural disasters, with climate change intensifying extreme weather and geological events. There are an estimated 358 million SMEs globally.SMEs are often the worst-affected by climate disasters and the least equipped to recover.

In India’s 2015 floods, 8,500 SMEs were impacted, affecting 160,000 workers and causing losses exceeding $349 million within two weeks.Globally, similar patterns have emerged. After Japan’s March 2011 earthquake, 656 SMEs employing about 10,000 workers went bankrupt within a year.

In Malaysia, the December 2014 floods in Kelantan affected more than 13,000 SMEs.The survey found that SMEs are frequently located in high-risk areas such as coastal zones and unplanned urban settlements, making them particularly vulnerable to flooding, tropical cyclones and infrastructure failures.Indian SMEs face heightened risk due to geography and climate.“The Indian subcontinent is highly prone to natural calamities due to its unique geography and climatic conditions. Located at the collision zone of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates, it is vulnerable to earthquakes, especially in the Himalayan region.

Also, its long coastline and monsoon-dependent climate expose it to cyclones, floods, and storm surges,” said Birendra P. Singh, associate professor in the geology department at Panjab University.The survey covered 50 countries and classified enterprises based on annual turnover, defining small enterprises as those with turnover below $10 million and medium enterprises as