Enterprise Nation, the business support network, has launched a Small Business Accelerator in partnership with Amazon, offering a free support package for more than 200,000 small businesses and startups across the country.
Jenny Campbell: former Dragons’ Den investor will be offering your business advice tomorrow
As part of the activities offered around the service, there will be a virtual Amazon Academy event tomorrow, on Friday June 26, with ex-“Dragon” Jenny Campbell to introduce businesses to the world of selli,ng online.
In response to covid-19 and the impact of the economic lockdown on small businesses, the Amazon Small Business Accelerator offers a free online training programme.
From today, businesses can take a quick online diagnostic test to find what approach best fits with their business – “Start”, “Grow” or “Turbo”. Participants will also access benefits designed to help them, ranging from discounts on business supplies and protective equipment from Amazon Business, to dedicated Amazon Web Services training and partner offers.
Amazon has a major delivery depot for south London based in Croydon, off the Purley Way.
“Small businesses are the lifeblood of the economy in south London and by helping them we can help families, communities and the UK bounce back more quickly,” said Amazon’s Doug Gurr.
“Amazon in Croydon is passionate about supporting local entrepreneurs and small businesses, with more than half of all products sold on Amazon stores coming from our selling partners.
“Many businesses have found their way through the crisis by providing goods and services online. Now the Amazon Small Business Accelerator with Enterprise Nation will provide thousands of offline and online businesses with the skills, tools and support they need to succeed in the digital world, to reach customers through Amazon or any other service.”
As part of the Accelerator, Amazon and Enterprise Nation will run week-long bootcamps to provide additional, personal training and expertise for up to 1,000 mostly offline startups and small businesses to help them trade online.
Businesses across fashion, beauty and wellbeing, food and drink, services, and home and leisure will join a five-day live online course with access to experts and peer-to-peer networking.
Bootcamp participants can also access 12 months of support from a wide range of accredited advisors covering topics on marketing, operations and managing finances as well as a range of benefits including discounts and credits from Amazon and partners.
Tomorrow’s virtual Amazon Academy is the first to be staged. It will take the form of a two-hour event to introduce businesses to the world of selling online – ideal for people who want to learn more before they embark on the Amazon Small Business Accelerator. Participation in the virtual academy is completely free.
Jenny Campbell, the former Dragons’ Den investor and a member of the Prince’s Trust Enterprise Fellowship Programme that helps young entrepreneurs, will be sharing her business story and insights on what entrepreneurs should consider when looking for investments and scaling a business. The event will also include industry leaders and talks from Amazon experts on the best ways to address the business challenges presented by the health crisis.
Emma Jones, the head of Enterprise Nation, said, “We have worked with Amazon to support small businesses for many years, but this is our most ambitious and important programme to date.
“Coronavirus has presented serious challenges for startups and SMEs, and never have more businesses called out for help, particularly with getting online.
“This package of critical support will include tailored guidance for startups, recovery advice, and then tools for growth to help businesses weather the storm and come out stronger on the other side.”
Amazon is currently helping thousands of small businesses with storage and removal fee waivers for new Selling Partners on Fulfilment by Amazon, while Amazon Launchpad, the company’s programme showcasing cutting-edge products from the latest startups, has offered ongoing fee relief and online training on funding, marketing and other topics. Amazon Pay users can receive chargeback relief and extensions, and finally, AWS will be running online events for startups, and will help small businesses modernise their use of technology with advice and resources available through the AWS free tier.
Small businesses across the UK can learn more about the Amazon Small Business Accelerator and sign up to the diagnostic here: enterprisenation.com/accelerator.
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