Free expert advice from Amazon to help start and grow a business online
Published: Thursday 01 Oct 2020
Small businesses and residents across the West Midlands are being urged to join a virtual event during Birmingham Tech Week in collaboration with the West Midlands Combined Authority to find out more about how to start and grow a business online and sell on Amazon.
The Amazon Small Business Accelerator event on Wednesday 14 October takes place in association with the West Midlands Digital Skills Partnership, which was formed by the West Midlands Combined Authority to develop local people's digital skills, attract investment and retain talent across the region.
The event will be a virtual live panel discussion hosted by Emma Jones, CEO of small business support network Enterprise Nation. To book your place, visit https://2020.birminghamtechweek.com/talks/west-midlands-amazon-small-business-accelerator/
This comes as research by Enterprise Nation revealed that 77% of small businesses across the West Midlands plan to increase their digital skills as a result of the impact of the pandemic and economic lockdown; 100% of businesses surveyed plan to broaden services to improve their business and avoid future shocks.
Following the event, attendees will be invited to join the Amazon Small Business Accelerator, where businesses can take a quick online diagnostic test to find the learning path that best fits with the current stage of their journey - ‘Start', ‘Grow' or ‘Turbo' - with free e-learning training on accounting, social media, scaling production, hiring teams and more.
Participants can also apply to free week-long sector-specific bootcamps, to provide additional, tailored personal training and expertise for up to 1,000 startups and small businesses to help them trade online. Businesses will have access to new benefits designed to help them, ranging from discounts on business supplies from Amazon Business, to dedicated Amazon Web Services (AWS) training and partner offers. Businesses will also receive 12 months' free expert support as part of ongoing membership to Enterprise Nation.
Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands, said: The West Midlands economy was in good shape before the pandemic, and we are doing everything we can to get back on our feet quickly. We need to keep as many people in work as possible, so it's critical that we support local small and medium-sized enterprises to enable our economy to recover.
We know that companies across the region have had to move their trade online because of the pandemic. Improving their digital capability gives them the potential to increase sales, safeguard jobs and make their business more resilient. The Amazon Small Business Accelerator will help local firms to do exactly that, and I urge small and medium-sized enterprises across the West Midlands - whether they've just started in business or are an established company wanting to grow their operations - to sign up to the event
Doug Gurr, UK country manager, Amazon, said: Small businesses are the lifeblood of the economy and by helping them we can support families and communities in the West Midlands bounce back more quickly. We have a long track record of supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses, with more than half of all products sold on Amazon coming from our selling partners, including many in the West Midlands. Some businesses have found their way through this year by providing more goods and services online. Now we are working with the West Midlands Combined Authority to provide firms in the West Midlands with access to the skills, tools and support they need to succeed in the digital world
Emma Jones MBE, CEO of Enterprise Nation, said: The pandemic has demonstrated that businesses need to get better at e-commerce in order to continue to trade seamlessly, and our research shows that there is a need for more support. The West Midlands Amazon Small Business Accelerator event will help local businesses become more robust and reduce risk to futureproof trade going forward
The West Midlands Digital Skills Partnership was formed in December 2018 by the West Midlands Combined Authority to help identify what digital skills provision is needed across the region. It encourages partners across all industry sectors to work together strategically to develop basic to specialist level digital skill sets, attract investment and retain talent across the region.
Small businesses across the UK can learn more about the Amazon Small Business Accelerator and sign up to the diagnostic here: enterprisenation.com/accelerator