Grenada Chamber of Industry and Commerce Executive Director Participates in Global Disaster Risk Reduction Forum
Petipha Lewis, Executive Director of the Grenada Chamber of Industry and Commerce, a member of the Network of Caribbean Chambers of Commerce (CARICHAM), represented Grenada at the Eighth Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, held in Geneva, Switzerland from June 2–6, 2025.
Ms. Lewis participated as a panelist in the high-level session “Accelerating Private Sector Engagement in Disaster Risk Reduction,” alongside:
- Mr. Yoshiki Hiruma, Vice President, Development Bank of Japan
- Ms. Terry Kinyua, Co-Chair, ARISE Global Board / Country Manager, Invest in Africa
- Mr. Laurent Giezendanner, Head of Corporate Security and Legal Operations, Syngenta Group, Switzerland
The session was moderated by Ms. Emma Haight, Head of Infrastructure Debt at Fidelity.
In her remarks, Ms. Lewis highlighted several key challenges that Caribbean small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face in investing in resilience, including limited access to finance, a lack of technical knowledge or tools to conduct proper risk assessments, and the short-term survival pressures that often override long-term planning.
She shared how CARICHAM is helping to address these gaps through its Center of Excellence, which provides a suite of business continuity planning tools, promotes knowledge-sharing, and disseminates regional and international best practices. Ms. Lewis also commended the efforts of national chambers across the Caribbean, noting their vital role in creating enabling environments that support risk-informed enterprise planning and disaster preparedness among their members.
Watch the full discussion in the video below.