ResiliSME

SMEs across Austria, Czechia and Slovakia are increasingly exposed to climate-related risks such as floods, heatwaves, droughts, supply chain disruptions and rising operating costs. However, many SME owners lack the time, expertise and financial confidence to turn climate risk awareness into concrete action. Existing tools and support structures often feel too technical, abstract or focused on reporting rather than practical business decisions. At the same time, key ecosystem actors — such as insurers, banks, municipalities, chambers of commerce, suppliers and peer SMEs — are not sufficiently connected with each other. As a result, climate resilience support remains fragmented, and SMEs often do not know where to go, whom to trust or what step to take next. Climate resilience is therefore postponed, even when risks could directly affect revenue, assets, operations and business continuity.

ResiliSME is a simple climate resilience platform for SMEs. It helps business owners quickly understand their climate risks, see what could happen in a worst-case scenario, and receive concrete recommended actions. The platform combines three outputs: Awareness / Info Hub - A simple overview of climate-related business risks and why they matter for SMEs. Self Risk Assessment - A lightweight assessment using location, sector, company size and business profile. It generates a personalized risk overview, worst-case scenario summary, financial impact estimate and prioritized actions. Actions to take & Matching Pathway - A 90-day action plan that connects SMEs with relevant partners, grants, suppliers, chambers, UNIQA Sustainable Consulting and peer business communities.

ResiliSME is designed for SME owners and managers who are aware of climate risks but are constrained by time, costs and competing priorities. It matters because SMEs are highly vulnerable to climate disruption, but often lack accessible support to act early. By turning complex climate data into clear business consequences and practical next steps, ResiliSME helps SMEs move from “I know this might be a problem” to “I know what to do next.” It also benefits ecosystem stakeholders such as insurers, banks, chambers, municipalities and suppliers by creating a practical pathway for prevention, financing, consulting and peer learning.

We built a clickable web app prototype - a centralized awareness hub and simple assessment flow based on company, location and sector inputs with a business profile.

The results page provides a clear risk overview, worst-case scenario summary, financial and operational impact framing, prioritized recommendations, and a transparent “see how this was calculated” feature.

It also includes an Action tab with a 90-day resilience pathway, recommendation cards with “Learn More” modals, partner matching across suppliers, universities, chambers and communities, contact forms for introductions, and a concept for exporting results as a simplified VSME-style PDF report.

We tested whether users understood their main risks, found the recommendations useful, felt targeted as SME owners, and would consider taking a next step.

Next steps are: - Improve the risk scoring logic with real climate, sector and geospatial data. - Connect the prototype to APIs for company data, regional risk data and funding opportunities. - Validate the recommendation logic with SME case studies and real partner input. - Build stronger partner onboarding for UNIQA Sustainable, banks, chambers and suppliers. - Test willingness to pay and specify the business model: free SME assessment, optional consulting, and partner-funded ecosystem model.